TimesLIVE reports that Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has appealed to employers in the hospitality sector to comply with labour laws and regulations.

Meth was talking on the sidelines of the blitz inspections being conducted by the DEL on Wednesday in Gauteng restaurants. She oversaw the inspections which were conducted in collaboration with Home Affairs, police and the Bargaining Council for Fast Food, Restaurant, Catering and Allied Trades. “I am appealing to employers [to accept] that the honeymoon is over. We are coming for them. They must make sure that they know labour laws and regulations and if they don't we will help them to know what the law says,” Meth indicated. In one of the restaurants in Waterfall, Midrand, it was discovered that some of the employees were foreigners without proper work documents. In another restaurant, an employer and three employees were taken in for questioning by police as the employees did not have the right documents. Meth also reported that the bargaining council had discovered variously that some of the employees had joined an unregistered union, that employers included tips as part of workers' salaries and that employees were not paid the minimum wage. The bargaining council’s Maggie Pooe said the main problem was that employees were paid less than the minimum wage. She also said many workers in the sector were undocumented foreigners.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at TimesLIVE

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