Babel-Menlyn. Image: Babel Instagram Page
A raid by the Department of Labour on Sunday led to the arrest of the owner of Babel, a restaurant in Menlyn, Pretoria, and two of his employees.
The arrests follow allegations of the Babel owner mistreating employees and the employees not having proper documentation to be in the country.
The employer will be charged and face a fine, while the employees will be deported.
A viral social media video posted by a woman, who claimed to have been hired at the restaurant, exposed the alleged mistreatment of workers.
The video claimed that staff did not have contracts, relied solely on tips, and had to buy their own uniforms.
Aside from having to buy their own uniform and equipment, including bottle openers, lighters and cigar cutters, she said they were not given breaks.
“There’s no break, you have to sneak maybe a RedBull in the bathroom or outside in the corner. Even if you’re eating your pie, you eat it while worrying that a manager is going to walk in and scold you for that.
“What happens there is painful,” she said.
@molly_bave Babel in Menlyn needs to start treating their employees like humans !! #fypシ゚ #SAMA28 #babel #menlynmall #mistreatment #viral ♬ original sound – molly
The TikTok videos quickly garnered attention.
Labour inspectors descended upon the Babel restaurant in Menlyn on Sunday night, finding two undocumented workers.
The restaurant manager at Babel, however, refuted the allegations, claiming that the restaurant was “among the top 5% in the country”.
He told eNCA that it was difficult to register new staff due to the high turnover rates of personnel.
“We have new staff, it’s difficult to register all of them at the same time because a lot of people they like to work for four or five days then they leave,” he said.
An immigration official stated that the department often finds undocumented workers in restaurants.
The official, speaking to Newzroom Afrika, explained that employers and employees without documentation would be arrested and face deportation and/or fines.
The Labour Department also found issues with gas installations and the structural integrity at the restaurant, leading to operations being halted.
According to the Labour Department’s Director General Viwe Mlenzana, Babel will remain closed until it meets compliance regulations.
“Operations will be restricted from going ahead. It means that we may have to close the operations until there’s compliance with those laws,” said Mlenzana.
He said the establishment is potentially putting its workers at risk.
“The people that are working there are exposed to a dangerous operation which means that their health and safety is at risk, which is why we have to make sure that there is compliance so that employees are protected.”
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