ELLIS MNYANDU, Johannesburg | Tuesday
THE South African labour ministry, which has been criticised for lax occupational health standards, has launched a safety inspection blitz on factories near Johannesburg following the death of 11 workers last week in an explosion at a floor-polish factory in Lenasia.
A team headed by labour ministry Director-General Rams Ramashia managed to inspect two factories, but a third, a biscuit manufacturer, was shut by its owners a few hours before the inspection.
”The owners just locked up and left before everybody arrived. Obviously there must be something to hide,” said labour ministry official Phenyo Nonqanye.
”Today was the beginning of a process to make sure people who are breaching the health and safety regulations in the workplace face the law,” Nonqanye said.
He would not comment on the state of the first two factories, but added the team was drawing up a report on their visit.
They would also draw up a plan to tackle shoddy health and safety standards at factories throughout South Africa.
Ramashia was accompanied by Zwelinzima Vavi, Secretary-General of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which represents 1.8 million workers.
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana has said 2001 will see a crackdown on employers who breach health and safety regulations and other labour laws.
The 11 workers, including 10 women, died when three gas bottles exploded, causing an inferno that swept through the Esschem floor-polish factory in Lenasia. Police said all escape routes had been locked.
One worker at the factory said their boss had routinely locked in night shift workers to prevent them from stealing.
Factory owner Suleman Lachporia has been charged with culpable homicide. He was released on bail of R30 000 and will appear in court again on January 5.
Micro-enterprises in South Africa have flourished since the demise of restrictive apartheid laws in 1994. But many small businesses survive on undercutting occupational health standards which eat into profits, analysts say. – Reuters