Abstract
Industrial factory facilities for small manufacturing enterprises
such as sewing cooperatives are of scarcity in South Africa. In
this study 83 sewing cooperatives in Gauteng province
participated and these cooperatives rely on space consuming
processes to deliver their output. All these cooperatives are
contracted to supply school learners’ uniforms to the Gauteng
Department of Social Development. An identified problem is that
these cooperatives work from facilities which present risks and
hazards to their workers on daily basis and they also do not have
basic first aid kits and some facilities have unsatisfactory exit
points. Inspection, close monitoring and risk management
advisory for manufacturing cooperatives should be among the key
focus areas for labour inspectors in South Africa and also for
funders need to consider safety risk management issues as part of
their criteria.