This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
Jay Singh, the man behind the ill-fated Tongaat Mall, will have to wait until at least the end of May before he finds out who might be prosecuted in connection with the mall's collapse on 19 November 2013 when two people were killed and 29 injured.
Singh, who spent four days before a department of labour commission of inquiry this week, defended himself and his company and repeatedly laid the blame for the mall's collapse on design engineer Andre Ballack. But only after Singh's lawyer, those of the municipality and that of Andre Ballack have delivered their closing arguments on 27 March, will labour department occupational health and safety manager Phumudzo Maphaha, who heads up the commission, begin drafting his report for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Maphaha said it would take him about a month to finalise his report before submitting it to the DPP and it could take the DPP another month to decide whether anyone should be prosecuted.
During the commission's sessions over the past year it emerged that concrete at several places was below strength and the reinforcing steel from one beam was missing. However on Thursday, Singh told the commission that the mall was always going to collapse, even if the concrete had the required strength and steel bars. He said he believed that poor design by Ballack meant the mall would collapse. Singh is the chief executive of Gralio Precast which was building the mall. On Wednesday it emerged that Gralio may have been using old drawings while building the mall.
- Read this report in full at IOL News
- See too, Tongaat mall was always going to collapse: Singh, at News24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page