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PPC’s Chinese workers under scrutiny

Johannesburg - The state’s investigation into how 242 Chinese nationals obtained permission to work and live at a North West plant owned by cement giant PPC is set to ramp up this week when the directors-general of home affairs and labour make another joint inspection of the site.

Mkuseli Apleni, director-general of the department of home affairs, and Thobile Lamati, his counterpart at the labour department, are planning their visit to PPC’s Slurry plant, a source close to both departments said on Friday.

This week, officials from the two national departments, as well as representative from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), met with PPC managers as part of their probe into the presence of the Chinese workers.

Mayihlome Tshwete, spokesperson for the home affairs department, said the verification process it had undertaken was well under way.

Officials had met with PPC representatives and went on site to the Slurry plant, he confirmed.

Tshwete said the cement giant had given his department documents related to the Chinese employees.

“PPC did not give us all the information [we required], but has undertaken to give us further information,” he added.

Once the investigation had been completed, a report would be submitted by the investigating officials, he said.

Specialised inspectors

Mokgadi Pela, spokesperson for the labour department, said Lamati had assembled a team, including “highly specialised inspectors”, to investigate the matter.

Lamati wanted to deal with the issue as “expeditiously as possible”, Pela said.

The labour department would release a preliminary announcement once enough work had been done, he said.

“The team is going through all the documents to see if any laws were flouted and to ensure that all agreements have been abided by, to the letter,” he added.

PPC spokesperson Siobhan McCarthy confirmed that officials from the departments of home affairs and labour visited the Slurry site on Monday and Tuesday.

“On Monday, the departments conducted an inspection of the project, including the personnel on site and the basic conditions of employment.

“The department of home affairs conducted an audit of the passports of all the Chinese nationals employed by [Chinese company] CBMI Construction on the project and confirmed the validity of all the work visas,” she added.

Pela said labour officials would be returning to the Slurry site to conduct further inspections.

Tebatso Mokoena, NUM’s national construction coordinator, said he met with PPC’s communications department on Monday to understand how the Chinese nationals ended up at the Slurry site and what special skills they had to offer.

“On Tuesday, PPC, together with CBMI, held a very fruitful and positive meeting with ... home affairs and labour, and regional representatives of NUM,” McCarthy said.

Mokoena confirmed that NUM’s regional shop stewards had attended the meeting.

“A further meeting was held with representatives of NUM’s national office on Thursday,” McCarthy said.

Mokoena confirmed this, adding that PPC officials shared details of the SK9 project, valued at a total of R1.7 billion, with NUM and explained the extent to which local workers were involved.

The company also provided access to the visas and other documents that led to the local employment of the Chinese workers, Mokoena said.

PPC officials told the union that they needed people with skills related to handling the “specific material” which CBMI used in the construction of a cement kiln, he added.

When asked about the material CBMI used that could only be handled by Chinese workers, Mokoena appeared uncertain.

Key concern

A key concern for NUM was the employment of the Chinese nationals and what contribution PPC would make to the community in terms of its social and labour plan.

Mokoena said that he had heard from PPC that between 30 and 40 people from the area would be trained in maintaining the SK9 kiln once it was completed.

McCarthy said that, in addition, between 10 and 15 employees would travel to China in May to receive training on operating the plant. This would include learning about process design, mechanical engineering and instrumentation.

“Thereafter, they will spend time on two cement plants to get practical training on the manufacturing process and quality control.”

Further training would take place on site at Slurry, McCarthy said.

Mokoena said NUM was largely satisfied with the information provided by PPC, but that the union would be monitoring the following:

  • That the training of the local people happened;
  • That PPC provided benefits to the community through its social and labour plan; and
  • The type of local employment the SK9 project generated – amid very high unemployment in the area.

“While both departments are yet to provide their final reports on the site visit, the delegation indicated that all their questions relating to the project, as well as processes followed and adherence to regulations, had been addressed satisfactorily,” McCarthy said.

Too early

Pela said it was too early to make a determination and that PPC could not speak on behalf of the labour department.

McCarthy said the delegations were provided with the following supporting documentation:

  • The project’s resource plan, as well as the processes followed to identify resource requirements and to source skills from the local and broader communities;
  • CBMI’s skills transfer programme onshore and offshore; and
  • The process followed by CBMI to apply for and secure valid intracompany work visas for all Chinese foreign nationals assigned to the SK9 project.

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