Twenty-five undocumented foreign nationals and two employers were arrested during the department of employment and labour blitz inspections in Ndwedwe municipality in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday.
The blitz focused on agriculture and the wholesale and retail sectors in the municipality.
The multi-departmental inspections, spearheaded by employment and labour deputy minister Jomo Sibiya, were conducted with the department of home affairs deputy minister Njabulo Nzuza, public works and infrastructure deputy minister Sihle Zikalala, police, the Ilembe district municipality and Ndwedwe municipality.
The 25 people arrested for illegally working in South Africa were employed in two of the farms that were raided. Two farm employers were arrested for employing the illegal immigrants.
A number of the arrested employees are Malawians and Mozambicans. They were taken to the local police station for processing and possible deportation to their respective countries.
The blitz inspections were aimed at checking the level of compliance with labour legislation such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the National Minimum Wage Act, Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.
“When we arrived at the first farm, you could see that there were hundreds of foreign immigrants who had to run away from us. Due to the vast farming space, we couldn’t contain them,” Sibiya said.
He said the team found that some employees were not registered with the UIF and the Compensation Fund and not compliant with the national minimum wage.
Sibiya said some of the wholesale and retail establishments were selling food items that had expired, some not labelled and others were unauthorised.
The structural conditions of the buildings also posed safety risks. Some did not have proper electrical installations, which posed fire risks.
As a result of noncompliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act regulations, two shops were closed down and several prohibition notices were served to all the inspected wholesalers and shops in the Bhamshela area for failure to comply with labour laws.
TimesLIVE
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