Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi is expected to officially open the department’s satellite office at the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) on Friday.
While the office has been operational since September 2019, the opening of the office will form part of his two-day visit to the Eastern Cape.
The official opening will provide the department with an opportunity to reach out to more employers and clients in the nearby communities who cannot travel to town for services.
Joined by Deputy Minister Boitumelo Moloi, the Minister will host a stakeholder breakfast session.
The session will see the Minister engage with employers in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality on ways in which employers and the Department can work hand-in-hand to unblock employment opportunities.
The Minister will then proceed to the Supported Employment Enterprise factory, a public entity of the department which caters for persons with disabilities. During his walkbout at the facility, Nxesi will engage with employees.
The Minister will round-up his day by visiting the AbaThembu Kingdom at Qamata Great Place.
Farm visits
On Saturday, the Minister and his Deputy will run parallel programmes focusing on the Chris Hani District where three farms will be visited to check on their compliance with labour legislation.
The farm visits will be preceded by a blitz inspection targeting employers in the Wholesale and Retail and Farm sectors.
The Minister will thereafter stop at a hospice whereas the Deputy Minister will visit the homes of Compensation Fund beneficiaries who were injured on duty to hand over assistive devices (prosthesis and wheel chairs).
Running concurrently with the farm visits will be the “Taking Services to the People” campaign where the department will be rendering services to residents in Cofimvaba in collaboration with other sister department and entities.
“This is aimed at creating awareness and promoting legislative processes driven by the department whilst strengthening working relations between the departments’ stakeholders and its clients. This platform allows the department an opportunity to bring services closer to the people by creating a one stop shop for its clients,” said the department on Monday.
In addition, the department will bring its Public Employment Services Unit to register work-seekers among others.-SAnews.gov.za
