Employers ‘cut corners in every way’: Unions demand action after George Collapse Report

Trade unions have condemned employers in the construction sector who hire undocumented foreign nationals to save costs. This follows the report by the Department of Employment and Labour to parliament this week that the majority of the compensation claims that they received following the George building collapse, were from undocumented foreign nationals. In May 2024, a five-storey building in George in the southern Cape collapsed, leaving 34 workers dead and 28 seriously injured.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) berated the decision to employ undocumented foreign nationals as a desire for “cheap labour”.

“Cosatu is deeply concerned about this revelation and reports that they were illegally employed. What it says about employers in this instance is that they were willing to cut corners in every way from not complying with construction regulations to employing undocumented persons,” said spokesperson, Zanele Sabela.

Numsa which organises in the construction sector has called for the Department of Employment and Labour to do inspections on workplaces to curb the exploitation of workers and undocumented foreign nationals.

“Numsa is a union which is opposed to the exploitation of all workers, and that includes the exploitation of undocumented foreign nationals. The union has been on record urging the Department of Employment and Labour to be vigilant, and also urging them to do inspections of workplaces because we are aware of employers who exploit undocumented foreign nationals for their cheap labour,” said Numsa’s spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola.

The site on Victoria Road in George shows no evidence of the disaster there last year. File photo by Mzi Velapi

The Department of Employment and Labour told parliament that, of the 68 claims for compensation that they received, 53 of them are from undocumented foreign nationals. “28 are fatal claims and 40 are Injury on Duty (IOD) claims.”

According to the report, the companies involved in the construction of the George building were NeoTrend Development as a developer, Liatel as the main contractor. Boshova, Father & Son, Motopa Plumbers, Terayn Electrical, Design Plus Interior Concepts, RS Formwork, were all subcontractors involved in various aspects of the construction.

The breakdown of the companies that employed undocumented foreign nationals are Father & Son (34), Phopiannah (10), Stephan Boschoff Bouers (9).

“The reason that employers exploit undocumented foreign nationals is because they are unable to exercise their rights due to their status. These workers are often poor and desperate which makes it easy for employers to exploit them by subjecting them to shocking working conditions, and poor pay. We also have to state that we do not support any form of violence, or victimisation of undocumented foreign nationals,” said Numsa.

Shadrack Maine, a Lesotho national, is a survivor of the George building collapse, whose left arm and leg were amputated. As a labourer at the construction site for about two months before the accident, his workday began at 07h00 and he knocked off at 17h00 and was paid R200 a day.

“There isn’t a day when I do not think about what happened that day. The trauma of what happened is still there. I think about how I was supposed to die there that day.” Video produced by Mzi Velapi and Edited by Sindile Gulwa.

“It is for this reason that Cosatu has taken the stance that once foreign nationals are employed, we organise them, because if we don’t then non-compliance with our labour laws will become commonplace. All employers must abide by all laws, in particular labour and immigration. Those who break the laws, must be held accountable,” said Sabela.

The Department of Employment and Labour says that, post the George building collapse, they, together with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), conducted 111 inspections in the construction sector in the Western Cape, and most of the employers were non-compliant with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Coida), and Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA).

“We believe that the state, and other regulated institutions like the SAPS and the Department of Employment and Labour must enforce the law, because they are legally empowered to do so. Employers will always abuse their power, which is what they did in the George collapse, and it is the responsibility for government to act, and prevent this. They have the power to compel employers to comply with all statutory obligations,” said Hlubi-Majola.