The provincial department of employment and labour partnered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to host a media networking session at the Protea Hotel Bloemfontein Willow Lake on Thursday (12/2). It was aimed at strengthening relations with local media houses across the province and providing updates on labour-related matters.

Addressing members of the media, employment and labour chief inspector Manelisi Luxande said in the current financial year, 714 noncompliant companies were recorded. Of the 714 noncompliant employers identified, 674 were referred for prosecution. The department has set a target to prosecute at least two-thirds of noncompliant employers in line with its performance indicators.

Luxande used examples to explain the circumstances under which cases are escalated for prosecution. One instance is when the employer does not pay an employee the national minimum wage.

Then there is overtime. The law prescribes that an employee must work eight hours a day for five days a week. “Should you exceed that, it becomes overtime. Should an employer expect you to work more hours, permission is needed from the department of labour to exceed the prescribed hours of work.”

Another issue is when an inspector arrives at a workplace, finds salary records and hours of work, and makes a determination that workers are underpaid, no overtime has been paid, and public holidays have been paid at normal rates instead of double the rate. An inspector would inform the employer that it is not complying with the Labour Act and the National Minimum Wage Act, said Luxande.

Employers found to be in breach are given an opportunity to rectify their conduct. According to Luxande, they may submit a written undertaking to comply with the law. Failing that, a compliance order is issued, giving the employer 14 days to correct the violations.

“On the fifteenth day, the inspector comes back with a final notice, which is called a compliance notice, with instructions and dates stating that the department of labour is taking the employer to the CCMA to make that compliance order an award which will carry the same force and effect as a court order.

“Once we get that order from the CCMA, we then apply to have it certified and when it’s certified, we just get the services of the sheriff to attach. Attached assets would then be sold to recover money that would be paid back to employees.”

The department’s firm stance on non-compliance aligns with the Free State provincial government’s broader efforts to curb worker exploitation.

Free State premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae has taken a strong position against what she calls the continued exploitation of workers in certain private sector companies within the province. This follows a series of complaints regarding poor working conditions at Hangda Steel Company in Thaba Nchu.

In October 2024, Letsoha-Mathae, accompanied by MEC for finance, tourism and economic development Ketso Makume, visited the steel company to address concerns about the treatment of employees. The company was subsequently closed by the department of employment and labour last year due to noncompliance.

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OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cvs