THE Durban Labour Centre on Masonic Grove, in the city centre, has been closed until further notice, says the KwaZulu-Natal office of the Department of Labour. The provincial communication office on Wednesday said this follows a prohibition notice being served on the property by an Occupational Health and Safety Specialist, after an inspection revealed unsafe and unhealthy conditions.

“The prohibition notice may be revoked or amended once an inspector is satisfied the building is safe and healthy for both staff and clients. Whilst the Department of Public Works has put an emergency plan in place to attend to all the building defects that resulted in the temporary closure of the office, the Department of Labour is implementing a contingency plan to ensure service delivery continues,” said the office.

This includes deploying staff from the Durban Labour Centre to Pinetown, Verulam and Prospecton Labour centres, as well as satellite offices in Phoenix and Chatsworth.

“The public is encouraged to use the aforementioned labour centres and satellite offices until further notice. The department apologises to all those affected,” said the office.

The public is advised to contact the Department of Labour’s Provincial Office on 031 366 2000 for service related enquiries.