Department of Labour sets target to crack down on workplace inspections
The department plans to visit more than 800 000 workplaces over the next five years
In an effort to ensure labour legislation compliance and improve working conditions, the Department of Employment and Labour will ramp up inspections.
Departmental inspectors will visit 839 000 work places over the next five years.
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This was announced last week by the department’s minister, Thulas Nxesi, delivering his budget vote under the theme ‘Facilitating jobs, social protection and decent work’.
As well as ensuring compliance and improving working conditions, the target set was also to protect workers.
‘Following the appointment in 2020 of an additional 500 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) inspectors, their work began yielding results.
‘In the previous financial year, there were 28 000 OHS inspections. In the current one, this jumped to 62 000 by the third quarter,’ Nxesi said.
He said last year there were 36 000 compliant and 26 000 non-compliant employers.
The most common forms of non-compliance relate to general safety regulations, Covid-19 regulations, hazardous chemical regulations, environmental regulations for workplaces, electrical installation regulations, and facilities regulations.
The thrust of this inspection programme, Nxesi said, was the establishment of a national roving team and the development of national mega blitz inspection plans to cover backlogs and priority areas.
‘The budget seeks to strike a balance by leveraging its existing programmes to intensify its employment mandate, while continuing to play a regulatory role in the labour market to promote safe and decent work, and provide social protection to workers,’ said Nxesi.
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