City workers worry about Middestad building safety
The employees have been complaining about the lifts constantly getting stuck despite being cleared by the labour department weeks ago.
Tshwane metro workers in the Middestad building in the CBD have raised safety concerns about their workplace.
The employees have been complaining about the lifts constantly getting stuck despite being cleared by the labour department weeks ago.
According to the workers, who wish to stay anonymous, one of the lifts in the building crashed from the 12th to the first floor on March 28 although the labour department declared them fit for use.
The workers also claim that on numerous instances officials and visitors have been stuck in the lifts.
Workers told Rekord that on April 14 two colleagues and a client were stuck in an elevator that had been cleared by the labour department.
Six days later, on April 20, a further three people were stuck in an elevator yet again.
“We don’t feel safe here, recently a client had a panic attack from being stuck in the lift and we needed to call the ambulance,” one of the workers, who would not be named, said.
According to workers, the building which is home to numerous departments is inadequate.
However, metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo assured employees the building is safe.
“Inspectors from the labour department have confirmed after conducting a detailed site inspection that five of the seven lifts are safe to be used,” he said.
“The other two lift units are offline and will only be opened on the department’s advice.”
Mashigo said the metro is working closely with the department and the landlord to ensure the safety of the occupants.
“The landlord has further appointed a full-time lift technician on site for quick response should a need arise.”
The metro said for three days after an incident on March 28 the lifts in the building were decommissioned while it put in place contingency measures.
“In the process, the department, as a neutral body, did its own inspection.
“Several meetings were held between the landlord, employees through union representatives, and the department. A few resolutions were taken to address the situation. The landlord is now expected to continuously monitor the condition of all the running units.
“A full-time technician has been deployed on-site and a clear communication to report an incident is placed in each unit,” Mashigo continued.
The workers said earlier in May they were ordered to relocate to the Sammy Marks building even though it was in a worse state condition than Middestad but the metro has denied this order was issued.
“There is no plan from the city to relocate officials from Middestad to Sammy Marks. The Sammy Marks building doesn’t have enough capacity to accommodate officials from Middestad.
“Maintenance requests are being logged by officials and attended to by the maintenance section continuously. Sammy Marks building is also safe for those officials who are placed in the building,” Mashigo stated.
While the workers contemplated further action against the metro, it said it was following all the regulations it needed to adhere to.
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