Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Department of Employment and Labour said on Friday it would be helping workers injured during an incident at an Astral Foods’ poultry facility to access compensation benefits.
Similar efforts would be made for the families of the two workers killed in the incident which took place last Sunday at Astral’s County Fair facility in Klipheuwel, Agter Paarl.
Speaking to News24 after a visit to the facility and the families of the two deceased workers, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said the department would also be “looking at the company” to make sure it was complying with regulations.
“We have met with the management at County Fair and we have been able to listen to what they are saying. All we could say at this stage is we have indicated there is an investigation that is already going on by our inspectors and we have been told them about the prohibition of that area where the accident happened until such time that everything has been cleared and there is no danger there.”
He said the department would allow the investigation by its inspectors to take its course. “It is unfortunate that lives have been lost and we will go and pass on our condolences to the families,” he said.
Astral, which is SA’s largest poultry producer, said on Thursday that the incident took place at 13:00 while the men were working at the waste disposal plant, “which is separate to the main plant and which does not have any septic pits”.
The affected employees developed breathing difficulties, with two of them succumbing to their injuries. A further six were sent to hospital for observation, with five being kept overnight on Sunday. All employees have been discharged from hospital, and the cause of the breathing difficulties is under investigation, the company said.
Asked whether part of the site had been closed down, Astral Foods referred News24 to an earlier statement which stated that the “pit has been declared safe in conjunction with the fire department following the incident”.
That same statement issued on Thursday said that a thorough cleaning of the area had been undertaken and that any preventative action determined from the investigation would be immediately implemented.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
