Pretoria - The Free State Department of Labour has urged workers to value protective gear provided by their employers as it is meant for their safety.
"It is the duty of every worker to look after their personal protective equipment if they value their lives. The kits are meant to safeguard them while working in hazard prone workplaces," said Free State Chief Director of Provincial Operations, Marsha Bronkhorst.
The call follows a weeklong inspection blitz targeting the construction sector. It revealed that some workers do not take proper care of their gear after using it.
During the inspection, it was discovered that the equipment is left lying at work sites, dirty and some even exposed to harsh weather conditions such as rain and heat, which prematurely damages it.
Bronkhorst also urged employers to ensure that when issuing the protective equipment, workers take responsibility by producing old ones to show that there is a need of new gear.
Inspectors issued 60 contravention and undertaking notices out of 193 workplaces inspected for health and safety violations that proved to be threat to workers' safety.
Some activities had to be halted in seven sites due to safety files not being available and some for expired medical fitness certificates.
The inspectors were, among others, checking for compliance with health and safety measures, availability of risk assessment plans where required, scaffolding compliance, training of workers on health and safety issues and the provision of protective wear for workers.
"Some of the main contraventions by employers pointed to no health and safety reps or committees being appointed, no qualified first aiders on site, no fire extinguishers, no protective wear being provided for workers and no medical fitness conducted to workers before assuming work," Bronkhorst said.
Meanwhile, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana acknowledged the problem of non-compliance by certain employers in the textile sector in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
He was responding to a parliamentary question relating to the collective agreement of the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry (NBCCMI).
Mdladlana said he was aware that there were reports of unfair labour practices, with regards to the payment of lower than minimum wages, in certain textile companies in the two provinces.
"The problem of non-compliance in this sector started a few years back and the council recently embarked on a campaign to ensure compliance, which resulted in the issuing of writs of execution to a number of companies in the Free State and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal," Mdladlana responded.
