The restaurant manager at Babel refuted the allegations.
A raid by the Department of Labour on Sunday led to the arrest of the owner of Babel, a restaurant in Menlyn, Pretoria, and two of his employees.
Another employee at the nearby Ocean Basket was also arrested on the same night.
The arrests follow allegations of the Babel owner mistreating employees and te employees not having proper documentation to be in the country.
The employer will be charged and face a fine, while the employees will be deported.
A viral social media video posted by a woman, who claimed to have been hired at the restaurant, exposed the alleged mistreatment of workers.
The video claimed that staff did not have contracts, relied solely on tips, and had to buy their own uniforms.
Aside from having to buy their own uniform and equipment, including bottle openers, lighters and cigar cutters, she said they were not given breaks.
“There’s no break, you have to sneak maybe a RedBull in the bathroom or outside in the corner. Even if you’re eating your pie, you eat it while worrying that a manager is going to walk in and scold you for that.
“What happens there is painful,” she said.
Watch: Babel employee on working conditions at restaurant
@molly_bave Babel in Menlyn needs to start treating their employees like humans !! #fypシ゚ #SAMA28 #babel #menlynmall #mistreatment #viral ♬ original sound – molly
Employer denies allegations
The TikTok videos quickly garnered attention.
Labour inspectors descended upon the Babel and Ocean Basket restaurants in Menlyn on Sunday night, finding two undocumented workers at Babel and one at Ocean Basket.
The workers and the Babel employer were arrested.
The restaurant manager at Babel, however, refuted the allegations, claiming that the restaurant was among the top 5% in the country.
He told eNCA that it was difficult to register new staff due to the high turnover rates of personnel.
“We have new staff, it’s difficult to register all of them at the same time because a lot of people they like to work for four or five days then they leave,” he said.
An immigration official stated that the department often finds undocumented workers in restaurants.
The official, speaking to Newzroom Afrika, explained that employers and employees without documentation would be arrested and face deportation and/or fines.
Consequences for non-compliance
The Labour Department also found issues with gas installations and the structural integrity at both restaurants, leading to operations being halted.
According to the Labour Department’s Director General Viwe Mlenzana, both Babel and Ocean Basket will remain closed until they meet compliance regulations.
“Operations will be restricted from going ahead. It means that we may have to close the operations until there’s compliance with those laws,” said Mlenzana.
He said both establishments are potentially putting their workers at risk.
“The people that are working there are exposed to a dangerous operation which means that their health and safety is at risk, which is why we have to make sure that there is compliance so that employees are protected.”
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