Vereeniging factory busted for R400k UIF debt as inspectors uncover secret escape tunnel

A team of fire and rescue officers has been roped in to assist in inspecting an underground tunnel believed to be used for the escape of undocumented foreign nationals.

The tunnel was discovered on Tuesday, at Vientiane PVC Ceilings and Pipes in Vereeniging.

It's believed a large group of employees ran into it when law enforcement agents arrived on Tuesday morning for an inspection.

Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour, Jomo Sibiya, led the operation into the company, believed to be using cheap labour.

Inspectors have found two lists registering employees at the factory, one for South Africans and the other for foreign nationals.

Records show the company owes over R400,000 in Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contributions.

While their annual submission of return earnings should be R3 million, the company was dishonest to the Department, citing a figure of only R140,000.

At Tuesday’s visit, most employees were said to have escaped through an underground tunnel.

One of the inspectors said this is because the employer wants to continue exploiting workers:

“When I came here, they did the same thing. They told half the employees not to come here, and then the foreign nationals did not come to work, it was only around 18 employees here.”

The teams said the tunnel needs the intervention of the provincial police.