Trouble In Babel: Authorities Made Off With Several Arrests After Raiding the Establishment
After being the epicenter of controversy for employee abuse and exploitation, Babel, a restaurant in Menlyn, Pretoria, was raided by authorities who made off with several arrests, including the owner of the beleaguered establishment. The raid ensued as a result of tip-offs from social media who flagged the restaurant.
The Departments of Labor and Home Affairs facilitated a sting operation and an inspection on the restaurant on the 15th of September. According to authorities, two people were arrested for not possessing the necessary legal documents to be working, and the employer was taken away in handcuffs.
The department also conducted an investigation on the eatery as well as an Ocean Basket in the same vicinity, and found that the restaurants owe their staff a combined total of over half-a-million rands in underpaid wages.
Authorities making arrests | SUPPLIED
Part-time content creator and former waitress from Babel who goes by the name of @molly_bave, real name Mihlali, on TikTok released a video on the platform on the 13th of September titled “Exposing New Restaurant in Menlyn for Mistreating Employees: Babel”.
In the first installment of the three-part series, the ex-waitress retold her version of events concerning the exploitation she endured in the few days she worked at the establishment. From having to buy her own uniform to purchasing her own equipment to work with, the young lady also revealed that there was no legally binding contract between the restaurant and the employees.
She also alleged that there was no basic salary, and that the only kind of money they got to take home as workers came solely from the generosity of the patrons through tips. She also divulged that the establishment billed every customer a mandatory 10% tip on top of whatever they had already ordered from the venue, before they also took a cut of 20% from that tip as well.
The former worker lamented the abusive working conditions, telling her audience that her superiors emotionally abused the staff and didn’t allow them any breaks while they were still on duty which normally ran over into the next day.
This is a developing story.