Labour Department confirms workers ill-treated and exploited on Mpumalanga farms

Exploitation and ill-treatment. It’s all part of a day’s work in the lives of farm labourers, sectors in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province.

This was recently confirmed by the Chief Inspector of the Department of Employment and Labour, Milly Ruiters.

Ruiters, during her week-long inspections in the area, discovered atrocious working conditions and found a number of employers in the agricultural sector wanting when it comes to compliance with the suite of labour legislation.

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The chief inspector told of issues that workers had to deal with such as electric faults in the equipment they worked with, with no personal protective gear provided, where little to no regard was given to their well-being and their lives.  

Culture of non-registration

She said that in addition to this, the culture of non-registration of workers with the unemployment insurance fund (UIF) and compensation for occupational injuries and diseases was prevalent.

“There were also instances where workers were being paid below the National Minimum Wage rates,” she said.

As Ruiters went through the area’s farms, she also discovered that for many of these employers, there was just no record keeping of their employees and most of them failed to inform workers about their rights.

“There was just a lack of compliance with health and safety for one of the more vulnerable sectors of the working community,” she said.

She confirmed that the Department issued a number of contravention and prohibition notices and plans to conduct follow-up inspections.

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Tests in compliance

Ruiters said some of the defaulting farms were repeatedly failing the compliance tests.

“These farms were subjected to inspections and continued to fail the tests in compliance with various labour laws,” she said.

The inspections focused on the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), National Minimum Wage Act, Unemployment Insurance Act, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Department’s inspections will continue until Friday and will also focus on the wholesale and retail sectors. The inspections form part of build-up activities including taking services to the people in the province.