This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.TimesLIVE Premium reports that poor ventilation, black dust particles from air conditioners, broken toilets and leaking ceilings are just some of the conditions at Batho Pele House, which houses the Pretoria headquarters of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).
The DPSA, the very department tasked with setting rules and guidelines for the public service, is itself operating in what staff describe as crumbling and unsafe conditions. A worker claimed that employees have been working from home and on rotation since June this year because Batho Pele House was unsafe. He said although the building was billed as a “green building”, it was anything but that. “We have been complaining about the quality of oxygen in the building. Because it is a green building, it does not have windows. There’s a terrible smell from the toilets, the building leaks when it rains, and corridors are often flooded,” the worker claimed.
National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) spokesperson Lwazi Nkolonzi confirmed that members had repeatedly raised safety and health concerns. Last week, the Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) conducted an unannounced inspection and issued several prohibition notices over safety violations. Structural engineers have since been called in to assess those. The DPSA told staff they would continue working remotely until all issues flagged by labour had been resolved. DPSA spokesperson Moses Mushi said the building belonged to public works and that the department was merely a tenant.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Yoliswa Sobuwa at TimesLIVE Premium (subscriber access only)
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