Two construction sites in Durban, including Tongaat Hulett Sugar, have been closed down as they were considered unsafe for workers, the Labour Department said on Tuesday.

Labour spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said Tongaat Hulett Sugar was ordered to halt operations after a fire broke out at its Clairwood factory.

"All work activities were immediately stopped," she said.

No one was injured and the cause of the fire was being investigated.

Sigabi said the employer was ordered to submit an electrical certificate of compliance to the department.

In a separate incident, at Le Domaine Estates in Hillcrest, inspectors stopped the construction of houses located directly under high voltage power cables.

"Employees working on roofs were found to be at a high risk of being electrocuted due to close proximity to the overhead cables," she said.

In terms of the Electrical Machinery Regulations (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993), electrical cables should be located at least 3.8 metres high from the roofs of the affected houses, said Sigabi.

The notices would not be revoked until conditions at both sites were safe to resume work.

This comes just days after Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana declared war on employers who compromised workers' health and safety.

Speaking at an event to commemorate World Health and Safety day in Port Elizabeth last Friday, Mdladlana called on workers to intensify their fight for safer and healthier workplaces for their own interests.

Sapa