TimesLIVE reports that inspections have revealed that many companies and organisations allowed to operate during level 4 of the lockdown are not complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) on Wednesday expressed concern at the low rates of compliance. “No wonder we still have so many workplace accidents. Given that the virus is spreading substantially, it is of great concern especially at those employers where there are long queues or people congregating. This is especially prevalent at government-related workplaces,” said inspector-general Aggy Moila. The DEL’s inspection and enforcement service unit conducted inspections at 2,789 workplaces throughout the country between 30 April and 8 May. During the inspections it was found that 1,237 organisations were not compliant, resulting in the issuance of 1,463 contravention notices, improvement notices and prohibition notices. DEL spokesperson Teboho Thejane indicated that 411 of the inspections were conducted at government or state-owned enterprises, where the rate of compliance was at 50%. He advised that the department had decided to prepare for more inspections as businesses started to increase their operations and more employees returned to work.
- Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Nonkululeko Njilo at TimesLIVE
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