THE Labour department in North West shut down two offices belonging to the Tswaing local municipality for health and safety reasons.

  Regional labour spokesperson, Orpa Mathabe said only one municipality out of 23 adhere to occupational health and safety regulations in the province.

  “We have shut down two offices at Tswaing local municipality after they failed to adhere to the labour law requirements. The municipality does not comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The ceilings are collapsing, walls are dilapidated and this brings doubt to the safety of employees.

  “As the department of Labour in North West, we have warned employers that non-compliance to labour laws will not be tolerated. We further encourage employers to approach any labour department that is closer to them if they need any guidance in adhering to the labour laws,” Mathabe said.

   Mathabe said that the closed municipal offices will remain shut until a labour inspector is satisfied that correct measures have been taken into consideration.

She added that municipality employees were working without proper machinery to unblock a manhole.

  According to inspector Elvis Ntokwe, the manhole has methane gas and getting inside it was not allowed by the law. He said by so doing, this puts workers’ lives in danger.

  “The municipality does not have records to indicate that workers are taken for medical check-ups. They also did not supply workers with protective clothing. Some of the issues raised do not even need special expertise for any manager to overseer to it,” Ntokwe said.

  He also pointed out that the department appeal to people in charge to take labour laws especially occupational health and safety seriously so as to avoid losing workers’ lives unnecessarily.

  Tswaing local municipality manager, Lucky Furie said: “Our employees in Sannieshof have moved to the local library which is in good condition. All our services can be accessed there. In Ottosdal, we have temporarily relocated to community hall. We have already started with renovations at our municipal office on Friday.”

   SAMWU provincial secretary, Thebeetsile Mokoto said they welcome the closure of municipality offices. He said all municipalities should adhere to the safety and health standards set in the law.

  “There are 22 municipalities in North West that do not adhere to the safety and health occupational act. We welcome the labour department decision. The situation affects most of our workers and expose them to various chronic diseases,” he said.

   Local government and human settlements department spokesperson Ben Bole said they are committed to make sure the municipalities adhere to the health and safety occupational regulations.

  “We will give support to all municipalities and make sure that safety of employees is not compromised. We will give necessary support and commit to improve situation in all municipalities according to labour laws,” Bole said.

-TDN

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

taungdailynews@gmail.com