Durban - The Department of Labour closed its Durban headquarters this week after it was labelled a “health hazard”.
The Sunday Tribune reported last week that the building on Margaret Mncadi Avenue (Victoria Embankment) had no drinking water, no working toilets, faulty plumbing, lighting and air-conditioning.
On Tuesday Lungelo Mkamba, the department’s spokesperson, announced the closure was “indefinite”.
“This was after a prohibition notice served on the property, by an occupational health and safety specialist, when an inspection revealed unsafe and unhealthy conditions.
“The notice may be revoked or amended once an inspector is satisfied the building was safe and healthy for staff and clients,” said Mkamba.
He said they had a contingency plan to ensure service delivery.
Unemployment insurance fund (UIF), maternity and sick benefits, death and injured-on-duty claims and other worker-related matters were handled there.
Mkamba said staff would be deployed to other centres and satellite offices.
However, Claude Naiker, the KwaZulu-Natal head of the Public Servants’ Association, the union which holds the biggest affiliation of workers at the building, claimed the department had not planned properly for the redeployment of workers.
He said members complained that:
* Managers at some centres were unaware of the plan, therefore they did not accommodate some of the affected workers at their offices.
Workers who reported for duty at its provincial base near Durban’s Royal Hotel were turned away.
* They did not have access to computers and phones, which were their main tools of trade.
* The department did not honour its promise to transport some of them to other labour centres.
Naiker said members who were not accommodated at other centres spent Thursday and Friday in the car park at the Durban centre.
“Those workers asked management to set up tented work stations in the car park so that they could continue working, but their suggestion was not accepted.
“We have asked members not to comply with any unreasonable instruction from the department and not to report to any labour centre where they could not be accommodated in offices and did not have access to computers and telephones,” Naiker said.
Mkamba denied the claims and said most of the affected workers had been temporarily placed at other centres and were working.
Most redeployed staff had been given the necessary tools to perform their duties.
“We are following the correct procedures to equip those who do not have,” he said.
He confirmed the department provided transport for those in need, and that those workers deployed to their provincial office had been accommodated there.
“Our management has been constantly engaging with the affected staff and unions.”
When the Sunday Tribune visited the building on Friday, some members of the public complained that they were not informed about the closure.
Xolani Jali, of KwaMashu, said he hoped to register his UIF claim.
“I received a letter to come here but there’s nobody to tell me where to go.”
Miranda Shisa, of eManzimtoti, said it was her fourth attempt to sort out her UIF payment. “How do I feed my family, what do I do?” she asked.
Alec Reuben Paul, of Phoenix, said he had been trying to resolve a labour issue with his employer since 2014 and still required the department’s assistance.
Makamba said the department had used various media platforms to inform the public about the closure, and had placed notices around the building.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and urge clients to visit the Pinetown, Verulam or Prospecton centres, as well as our satellite offices in Phoenix and Chatsworth, until the Durban centre is reopened.
“They can also contact the provincial office at 031 3662000, Mkamba said.
Sunday Tribune