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Oversight visit report on farms by Labour Portfolio Committee - Recommendations and Progress

This report provides recommendations and progress updates on the oversight visit by the Labour Portfolio Committee to farms, including training initiatives, specialization in vulnerable sectors, holistic inspections, and addressing conduct of inspectors.

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Oversight visit report on farms by Labour Portfolio Committee - Recommendations and Progress

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  1. Overall Responsibility Director General: NPT Nhleko PRESENTATION TO LABOUR PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE Report on oversight visit by the Committee to farms 28 November 2012 1

  2. FARMS VISITED

  3. RECOMMENDATIONS(1) • Through training and skills advancement, the Department of Labour • should strengthen its occupational health and safety inspections to • conduct comprehensive inspections on the farms

  4. RESPONSE. • The training and skills development of our inspectorate is a continuous process and over the year a number of initiatives have been put in place in order to address this. Amongst these initiatives for the current financial year include: • Training to be conducted to improve the investigative ability of Occupational Health and Safety inspectors • Developing a Learnershipprogramme that would seek to bring all inspectors who are not already at that level at least up to NQF level 5. This would take cognizance of recognition of prior learning; and • Training on legal interpretation facilitated by the Justice College.

  5. RECOMMENDATIONS(2) Economic sectors vary and are faced with numerously different challenges that require precise interventions. Similarly, when conducting inspections, it is important that inspectors understand challenges of these sectors and are equipped to deal with them in order to improve the quality of inspections. Therefore, the department should speed up the specialisation dispensation of the Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES), especially in the vulnerable sectors such as agriculture, domestic, etc.

  6. RESPONSE. • The Department is in the process of finalising Job descriptions in each specilisation category, including specializing in Agriculture, Domestic and Security sector as the demands on compliance differ per sector. • OHS will also be categorised according to areas of speciality ie,Construction,Engineering etc.

  7. RECOMMENDATIONS(3) • The department should focus on quality inspections, which focus on • a holistic assessment of the working environment as opposed to • inspections which focus on administrative compliance.

  8. RESPONSE • Inspections are conducted in a holistic approach and therefore the inspectorate has moved away from only following a checklist ticking exercise to consider all areas of non compliance. With respect to issues of non compliance that fall outside the remit of the inspector, the provincial offices across the country has working relationships with all relevant government department and agencies so that these matters are reported through these structures.

  9. RECOMMENDATIONS(4) Having noted complaints from farm workers about the conduct of the Department of Labour’s inspectors, the committee therefore recommends that the Department of Labour should urgently: Address the code of conduct of inspectors when conducting inspections.

  10. RESPONSE • A code of conduct for Labour Inspectorate was developed and communicated through Roadshows. • Norms and standards have been developed on how inspections are to be conducted. The implementation thereof is a process that is continuously being assessed by the provincial offices and the relevant business unit managers.

  11. PROGRESS WITH INSPECTORATE SPECIALISATION . 31

  12. Background . 32

  13. SPECIALIZATION MODEL (Rationale) • Serves as a departure from the current practice where one inspector has to do everything • Provides for specialization and career pathing for an inspector • Provides for better monitoring and enforcement of the labour laws • Will enable the inspectorate to measure the impact of legislation in the areas of specialisation • A detailed submission is being routed to the Minister for the creation of these post . 33

  14. Proposed Model . 34

  15. Progress to date • RECRUITMENT OF INSPECTORS • A detailed submission has being routed to the Minister for the creation of these post • consultation with unions at the Departmental Bargaining Chamber is underway • CAPACITY BUILDING • Survey has been done and Provinces have supplied names of people to be trained. • 150 inspectors will be trained on the Learnership • 20 Inspectors will be go through the RPL process . 35

  16. Progress to date… . 36

  17. END • THANK YOU

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