Michael Bagraim
A Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister has described the Department Of Labour’s interest in horseracing as ‘very strange’.
Trainers countrywide have recently been inspected with regard to health and safety, workmen’s compensation and other labour issues.
Trainers have told the Sporting Post over recent months that the inspectors appeared to have no interest in the Assistant Trainers or other staff, but were focussed entirely on matters related to Grooms.
Well-known Cape Town Labour Lawyer Michael Bagraim, the DA Shadow Minister Of Labour, writes on www. businesslive.co.za that he had the displeasure of attending a parliamentary labour portfolio committee meeting on national blitz inspections in the horse-racing industry.
He continues:
It is bewildering why this industry was targeted and took up an enormous amount of time of the department of labour’s inspectorate.
Over and above this, the portfolio committee decided to have a series of meetings discussing this industry, which was not only a waste of time and money but also very strange.
As in all industries, the department of labour found certain errors of noncompliance which were cleared up and sorted out before the final meeting of the committee.
Despite this, a parliamentary meeting went ahead with no fewer than nine senior labour officials in attendance in Cape Town. Most of these officials travelled long distances and the cost to the department must have been enormous.
This wasteful expenditure can be ill-afforded when the ministry cannot even allocate enough money to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration for the training of new commissioners, who will be needed to monitor and enforce transgressions of the forthcoming labour law amendments.
Sharome van Schalkwyk, MP, ANC whip, labour portfolio committee member responds:
Sharome van Schalwyk
In his letter, Wasted time and money (November 19), MP Michael Bagraim questions the rationale of calling a representative of horse-racing trainers and department of labour officials to appear before the portfolio committee to report and take recommendations aimed at improving the appalling and unacceptable working conditions of grooms.
This is a multimillion-rand industry which does not have uniformity in minimum standards or sectoral determinations for the hundreds of grooms who sweat day and night, weekends and public holidays to enrich owners and trainers.
The portfolio committee conducted oversight visits in the horse-racing industry after receiving a complaint about appalling working conditions. The committee discovered the squalor in which grooms lived. Working hours were not properly compensated, clearly violating the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
There was particular concern about the level of awareness and education on health and safety matters in the sector considering the dangers riders and grooms are exposed to daily.
Due to the committee meeting on November 14, the committee got a commitment from trainers to organise themselves into an association that will deal with industrial relations issues. This will help create orderly and harmonious industrial relations in this sector.
