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.
SowetanLive reports that according to Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya, all of the 53 foreign nationals who were working on site at the time of the deadly George building collapse in 2024 were in SA illegally and did not have valid work permits.
Alongside the police, George municipality and the departments of public works and human settlements, Sibiya briefed MPs on Wednesday on findings in respect of the George building collapse that occurred on 6 May 2024. Sibiya said 77 employees were affected by the collapse of the building that was still under construction. So far, the Compensation Fund had received 68 claims, of which 28 were fatal claims, while the Federated Employer Mutual Assurance (FEM) had received five.
He said out of the 68, 15 were found to be SA citizens, while 53 were foreign nationals employed by various companies linked to the site, as confirmed by Home Affairs. “We also got to know from them that only one had a work permit, meaning all the other 52 didn’t have work permits. But even that work permit had expired, meaning even that work permit was as simple as non-existent. It was not valid. So the entire 53 foreign nationals were illegal ones, as per home affairs books,” Sibiya indicated. He also reported that 19 claims remain unregistered due to missing documentation such as death certificates, medical reports or identity documents.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Koena Mashale at SowetanLive
Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page