Joburg Deeds Office relocating to temporary premises due to 'unsafe' working conditions - PSA
An inspection by the Department of Employment and Labour found that the building was unsafe and in serious violation of occupational health and safety regulations says the Public Servants Association.
Deeds office. Image credit: Tech4Law on Facebook
The Money Show's Stephen Grootes is joined by Sibusiso Ndzala, Johannesburg provincial organiser for the PSA.
An attorney highlighted the 'atrocious' working conditions at the Johannesburg Deeds Office in an interview with CapeTalk's John Maytham last week.
He reported that the resultant delays in property deals could be attributed to the state of the building itself.
Now the Office is set to be relocated temporarily to another building because of safety concerns, says Sibusiso Ndzala, Johannesburg provincial organiser for the Public Servants Association (PSA).
Ndzala reports that the decision follows lengthy discussions between the PSA and management, where consensus was reached that the Marble Towers building poses occupational health and safety (OHS) concerns for both staff and clients.
SA's Deeds Office is responsible for the registration, management and maintenance of the country's property registry - conveyancers lodge various documents there for the purposes of transferring properties, registering bonds in favour of banks and so on.
The PSA had earlier called on the Director General of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development and the Chief Registrar of Deeds to address 'critical' issues affecting employees at the Jobug office.
"The DG of this department was then forced to begin a process of involving Public Works to look into moving employees into a temporary building."
Sibusiso Ndzala, Johannesburg Provincial Organiser - PSA
Ndzala says this move is meant to happen within six weeks.
Management of organised labour will be involved in identifying a suitable building to ensure that there are no health and safety issues there, he adds.
The PSA official notes that a move to permanent new premises is scheduled only for 2026.
For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article