Subscribe & Follow

Advertise your job vacancies

Labour Department 'breaking own rules'

10 Dec 2013

It is a department tasked with enforcing the rights of workers but now the Department of Labour is being dragged to court for failing to adhere to its own rules.

The Labour Centre at 145 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg has been closed. Image:Galetti

The court case is in connection with the Johannesburg Labour Centre, housed in the Nedbank Mall building on Commissioner Street that was closed for the second time last month after workers refused to work there.

People who use the centre for UIF claims and other services have been referred to other centres in Gauteng. The Public Servants Association (PSA) instituted the court case against the department last week.

According to court papers, the workers are demanding the revival of the prohibition notice served on the department in October. The notice, issued by a labour inspector, prohibited the department from occupying the building until all repairs were completed.

The notice was overturned by the chief inspector, who then replaced it with an improvement notice.

Workers were then issued with a letter by provincial chief director Kenny Fick, instructing them to return to the building on 26 November. They refused to do so, saying that they do not want to risk their health.

PSA provincial manager Monica Venter said the department's attitude was "shocking". "The Department of Labour, the custodian of the Labour Relations Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, is breaking the very rules it is supposed to enforce," alleged Venter

PSA spokesman Henry Hall said the department has 10 days to oppose the application. So far the department had not responded.

Source: Sowetan via I-Net Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za