Question NW1193 to the Minister of Employment and Labour
01 April 2022 - NW1193
Mkhonto, Ms C N to ask the Minister of Employment and Labour
What are the details of his department’s intervention in the ongoing battle between workers from Zimbabwe and Lesotho on farms in the Western Cape?
Reply:
The Department is aware of the tension between workers from Zimbabwe and Lesotho in the Robertson area that is approximately 40 kilometres outside the town of Worcester. In the Departments’ engagement with the Municipality and Law Enforcement, we were informed that employers are using unregistered Labour Brokers to recruit workers from Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
The DEL met some of the employers through the assistance of the Municipality and informed them that from the week of 11 April to 14 April we will be inspecting, through a blitz inspection programme, approximately 200 farms in the area to determine compliance with labour laws, including the registration of Labour Brokers as Temporary Employer Services. This will be done in collaboration with the Dept. of Home Affairs and the South African Police to ensure the smooth progress of the event. Any non-compliance found will be dealt with in terms of the prescripts of the law.