The Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) in the Western Cape Province will be embarking on week-long inspections targeting farms located in the Langeberg Municipality.

The inspections are to commence from Monday 11 - Thursday 14 April 2022 in the areas of Ashton, Robertson, McGregor, and Montagu.

The inspectorate will be testing compliance with the Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA), Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA), Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), and the National Minimum Wage Act (NMWA).

Following recent allegations brought to the department on the employment of undocumented migrants in the Agricultural sector, the department will be conducting the inspections together with the provincial Department of Agriculture, the South African Police Services (SAPS), and the Department of Home Affairs who will be testing the authenticity and validity of the documents produced.

The Department has been engaging various stakeholders including municipalities, employers, and some of the labour brokers in the Robertson area and surroundings, to form a collaboration that will ensure that the recruitment process in the sector is conducted in line with labour legislation and that, the first preference for jobs is allocated for the local unemployed individuals.

“Our inspections are not punitive but collaborative to ensure that workplaces adhere to the rule of law and promote a healthy and safe working environment. However, we will be very hard on employers who are deliberately operating outside the parameters of the law,” said Western Cape Provincial Chief Inspector David Esau.

Source: Government of South Africa