Cheeky Chinese nabbed, firm banned

A YOUNG Chinese director has been arrested awaiting deportation while operations at his company have been suspended for obstructing Labour inspectors and operating illegally.

Yesterday’s inspections

conducted at 25-year-old

Peng Le’s Lusaka Vehicle

Supply Limited, which mainly specialises in recycling scrap metal and plastic materials, revealed that the company operated contrary to provisions of the law and its operations had to be suspended with immediate effect.

This is according to a statement issued by Ministry of Labour and Social Security

public relations officer Mwiya Kabika in Lusaka yesterday.

“According to our findings, workers at the company did

not have protective clothing despite being exposed to hazardous environmental conditions and were not given health incentives such as

milk.

“In addition to this the sanitary conditions at the company were extremely poor, the company only had one unclean toilet for all its 29 employees who were both male and female. They had meals in a dirty place and the food served to them was not

prepared by certified cooks,” Ms. Kabika said.

She said the inspections also revealed that the

workers had no contracts of

employment and were paid below the minimum wage at the company located at plot number 12093 Mumbwa

Road. Ms. Kabika said all this

violated Section 10 (5) (a-b) of the Employment Code Act Number 3 of 2019.

“The Labour Commissioner has therefore decided to suspend operations at the company with immediate

and the workers’ salaries

will continue to accumulate normally during the suspension until the pending

issues are resolved,” she

said.