Parliament, Sunday, 30 March 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour wrapped with success its week-long oversight visit in the North West Province.
The oversight programme prioritised high-risk areas in the Bojanala District and surrounding areas for unannounced Department of Employment and Labour inspections, focusing on compliance with Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA), National Minimum wage Act (NMWA) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHSA) including direct engagement with employers and workers through walkabout.
The committee kick-started its oversight programme with engagements with the officials of the Department of Employment and Labour in the provincial office of the Department of Labour where the committee received a briefing on the state of the department in the province with emphasis on Unemployment Insurance Fund, Compensation Fund, Public Employment Services (including, the Labour Activation Programme) and Inspection and Enforcement Services among others.
The briefing revealed labour centres that are not operational and employers that are uncooperative especially in the agriculture sector.
Accompanied by the department of labour inspection and enforcement units, the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Home Affairs that also briefed the committee, the committee visited the Mahikeng based North West Boerdery farm on Tuesday, 25 March 2025, and the Rustenburg based Bosparadys Dairy on Wednesday, 26 March, to assess compliance of the farms with legislation and the living conditions of farm and dairy workers.
The committee embarked on walkabout at both farms reaching also to the houses of farmworkers, and engaged with farm owners. The inspections pointed out to contraventions in a number of areas ranging from forced deduction outside statutory requirements that undermined minimum wage, dehumanising living conditions with race based living quarters for employees to employment of illegal/undocumented foreign nationals.
The committee further conducted unannounced inspections in the hospitality industry at Sun City focusing on Sun City Internation and Day to Day Farm in Rustenburg on Friday, 28 March 2025. Although the two institutions are different in their operations, there were also areas of non-compliance identified ranging from BCEA, UIA, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, and OHSA related matters.
The committee noted with concern the absence of the Department of Home Affairs in these two inspections at Sun City International and Day to Day Farm where the enforcement of the immigration laws is required.
The committee supports contravention notices issued by the inspectorate including immediate prohibitions in areas where non-compliance is of high risk. The arrest of employers and undocumented foreign nationals at Bosparadys farm was as a result of contravention of laws including immigration laws of the country.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Boyce Maneli said: “It is our considered view that the inspections are in the main helping employers to comply as there is time given to rectify but also ensuring the rights of workers are not compromised.
Mr Maneli added: “The arrest of the employers and undocumented foreign nationals is not new. In their day to day, the Department of Employment and Labour’s inspections and enforcement units have been conducting joint inspections with SAPS and Home Affairs and where verification is confirmed that there are illegal foreign nationals employees, arrests are effected.”
In its October 2024 oversight programme, the committee witnessed the arrest of employers and undocumented foreign national employees at Country Mushrooms Farm in Pretoria.
Mr Maneli said the Bosparadys Dairy Farm arrests are not in isolation from other arrests of non-compliance. “There is no witch-hunt against a particular race or national group as communicated by some in the social media platforms recently spreading and mobilising on falsehood narrative. The employer and the undocumented foreign national who were in the same police vehicle were arrested for contravention of the laws of this country. All shall be equal before the law has been given meaning in this case.”
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR, MR BOYCE MANELI.
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Name: Mava Lukani (Mr)
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E-mail: mlukani@parliament.gov.za
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