24 Feb 2019

 Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo had said the Steel Galaxy Company has a license for manufacturing and sale of steel products.

Answering a Parliamentary question, Mr Mabeo said some of the products the company based in Block 3, Gaborone sold included, round bar, roof sheet, and reformed bars.

Mr Mabeo stated that the same license was used in Phakalane, which he said was an anomaly.

He said the last labour inspection conducted at Steel Galaxy was in March 21, 2018 and it revealed that all employees of Steel Galaxy had contracts of employment and employment cards.

He however said the employees were not given their own copies of contracts of employment, adding that the company was advised to give the employees their copies of contact of employment.

He pointed out that upon follow-up, management indicated that it had been done.

Regarding the protective clothing, Mr Mabeo said employees had their protective clothing and there were no issues raised about the quality or sizes of the protective clothing by the employees.

Furthermore, Mr Mabeo said the labour inspection conducted revealed that employees had a working week of five and half days per week running from Monday to Saturday. This, he said, was in line with the working hours of the industry as provided for in the Employment Act in Regulation of Wages.

Mr Mabeo explained that under the circumstances, when employees work on a Saturday, they were paid at a normal rate since it was a normal working day for them.

He said overtime could only apply if they worked beyond their normal hours of work, adding that was currently not the case at Steel Galaxy, Phakalane.

Gaborone North MP Mr Haskins Nkaigwa had asked the minister to state when the last labour inspection was done by the ministry at Steel Galaxy in Phakalane and what license they were using for their operations.

He also asked if the minister was aware that employees of Steel Galaxy at Phakalane were working without contracts, using protective clothing of low quality and over sized clothing.

MP Nkaigwa further wanted to know if the minister was aware that despite working on Saturdays, employees of the company were not rightly compensated for such. ENDS