PRETORIA – The Department of Employment and Labour has urged employers across South Africa to comply with the country’s labour laws in order to avoid incurring “unnecessary costs” as a result of non-compliance.
Inspector-General of the Department of Employment and Labour, Aggy Moiloa made the remarks while leading the week-long inspection blitz of the hospitality establishments in the Western Cape.
Yesterday, Moiloa, accompanied by a roving team of inspectors, paid a visit to the Lagoon Beach Hotel and the Blaauwberg Beach Hotel.
The inspections are concentrated in the metropole area of Cape Town, the coastline, the Cape Winelands, and the Overberg regions.
Moiloa said the department’s approach is collaborative in nature to ensure that workplaces adhere to the rule of law and promote a healthy and safe work environment. She said the government wants workplaces to adhere to employment standards.
"Our approach is not punitive in nature. Non-compliance is more expensive than compliance. Compliance is always preferable to avoid unnecessary costs and inconveniences,” she said.
The inspector-general’s visit is part of a team of departmental inspectors conducted by the Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch to ensure the enforcement of the labour legislation in South Africa’s hospitality sector.
So far, the department has revealed that compliance with South Africa’s labour laws is only at 42% in the Western Cape's vast hospitality sector.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi was to join the team of departmental inspectors in Sea Point, Cape Town, in the ongoing blitz to ensure the enforcement of the labour legislation within the hospitality sector.
“On the first day of the mega-blitz (Monday), the department conducted 118 inspections, with 50 employers complying and 68 non-complying,” the department said.
Last week, the Department of Employment and Labour announced that its Inspection and Enforcement Services, accompanied by the Department of Home Affairs and the SAPS in the Western Cape, would embark on week-long mega-blitz inspections targeting the hospitality sector including hotels, bed and breakfast facilities and restaurants.
The government’s announcement of the labour law enforcement blitz came a day after leader of the EFF Julius Malema hogged the public discourse after visiting restaurants in Gauteng to “inspect” the ratio of local to non-South African employees.
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