The Department of Employment and Labour says it has taken legal action against the North West Department of Health for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS) at its Brits Forensic Pathology.
This comes as the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in the North West reiterated its call for the mortuary to be closed, accusing the department of putting the lives of the workers in danger.
According to the Department of Employment and Labour, it issued the provincial Department of Health with a notice of non-compliance with the requirements of the OHS Act in October 2022. It gave the department 60 days to correct issues raised.
The Department of Labour says during the follow-up inspection it conducted in December 2022, the department had failed to act, despite having issued it with notices.
“The employer was issued with a contravention notice and given 60 days to comply or correct all the issues raised in the contravention by the inspectors. The 60 days lapsed in December and a follow up inspection was conducted on the 12th of December 2022 where it was established that the employer never corrected the issues raised in the contravention notice and consequently the employer was recommended for prosecution through our statutory services. The matter is currently with the SAPS in process of being referred to the prosecutor.
Nehawu in the North West says the matter is long overdue. Nehawu’s regional secretary in Bojanala District, Shadrack Ramaru, says workers are faced with appalling working conditions that also endanger their lives.
Ramaru says the workers are subjected to serious challenging conditions such as poor ventilation, dead bodies that are piled up, floors that are full of blood. They say despite these challenges, they are expected to perform their duties without proper PPE.
“We have written numerous letters to the department demanding them to close this particular facility as well as having several meetings with the management in the district, as well as the management in the province. However, in some meetings there was an agreement that they were going to close this facility. We are here today to indicate to members of the public about the situation that this facility is faced with because it cannot be correct that our members on a daily basis wake up to come to a stinking place where the department is aware and they don’t want to do what needs to be done.
Meanwhile, North West Department of Health spokesperson Tshegofatso Mathibedi says the department only learnt about the legal steps from the media.
Mothibedi says the department has since addressed most of the issues raised by the Department of Employment and Labour. He says they will meet with the Department of Employment and Labour to try and resolve the matter amicably.
“As the department we remain surprised because some of these issues, most of them have been addressed. The issue of ventilation for instance has been addressed, the issue of installation of doors in that mortuary have been addressed, the issue of water in that institution has been addressed. So, we were actually surprised why this matter has not come to us through them, not through the media, so that we can keep them abreast in terms of what has been done.
Source: eNCA
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