TimesLive reports that eight undocumented foreigners and two employers were arrested at a shop in the Pretoria CBD on the first day of a “mega blitz” inspection on Monday.

The Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) said prohibition notices were issued against the use of eight other employees at the shop for contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The prohibited employees were found to be unqualified to work and were without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), such as suitable shoes and uniforms. The DEL’s inspection and enforcement services in Gauteng, police and home affairs officials are conducting inspections this week in the wholesale and retail and hospitality sectors to check the level of compliance with labour legislation. “In terms of immigration law, when you find such [discrepancies or non-compliance], the employer also gets arrested because they would have violated the Immigration Act. The employer was taken alongside the people that were found not in possession of the right documents,” labour inspector-general Aggy Moiloa advised. Employers are being checked for compliance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, sectoral determinations, the National Minimum Wage Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. Moiloa indicated that the national multistakeholder “mega blitz” inspections started in 2020 in the Eastern Cape and was rolled out to other provinces, with just the Northern Cape still outstanding.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shonisani Tshikalange at TimesLive

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