Department of Employment And Labour welcomes the arrest by the hawks of two shop owners for bribing an inspector

The Department of Employment and Labour welcomes the arrest of two shop owners who tried to bribe the department’s inspector in order to avoid being issued a compliance order against their shop.  On 26 November 2022, the suspects were apprehended in downtown Witbank by the HAWKS dealing with Serious Corruption Investigations.

This came after a vast cooperation by the department’s Risk, Antifraud, and Integrity Management (RAIM) unit in the provincial office working with the HAWKS.  The Department was conducting an inspection at a local General Dealer in Emalahleni. The inspector found that the employer was not complying with the Occupational Health & Safety Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. When the inspector issued the non-compliance order, the employer tried to bribe the inspector by requesting to buy ‘petrol’ and give them money for their own use. The inspector refused and reported the matter to the manager who swiftly alerted the matter to the RAIM in the Mpumalanga provincial office. This malicious act by the shop owners evoked the department’s fraud strategy in dealing with fraud wherein acts of fraud and corruption state that such acts must be reported by its officials.

The suspects appeared at the Middleburg Magistrates Court and the case of fraud and corruption was remanded to 06 December 2022. The Department remains committed to its zero tolerance for fraud & corruption and will not allow employers to corrupt its employees.

For any fraud allegations please report the allegation of the suspected fraud to DeL:0860 022 194, UIF Fraud hotline: 0800 601148, CF Fraud hotline:0800 204974, Email:fraud@uif.gov.za(link sends e-mail) / fraud@labour.gov.za(link sends e-mail) , Anonymous letters, Personal visits to RAIM unit in Witbank Provincial Office on 1st floor

Source: Government of South Africa