KALLIE Tsarahe lost four fingers on his right hand to a wood cutting machine at work last year.
The 28-year-old from Nompumelelo Village in Tsitsikamma, Eastern Cape, told Daily Sun: “I am unable to make ends meet because of the accident, but my employer is not compensating me.”
His boss at Lofty’s Timber Enterprises, Lofty du Bruin, claimed Kallie wasn’t even supposed to be near the machine.
“His job was to pack wood that had been cut, but he put his hand into the machine while another worker was blowing it clean with air. He did that on purpose. We paid him three months of wages.
“Back in 2012, he also received three months payment for an injury.”
Kallie, said: “They told me they couldn’t compensate me further because I don’t have an ID. They said I should get a disability grant from Sassa but won’t assist me to get an ID.”
His mum, Lebohang Hansford (46), said she never received a birth certificate for Kallie and the hospital where she had him destroyed all their patient documents years ago.
De Bruin said while Kallie was working for him, he took him to Home Affairs to get an ID.
“I thought he was in the process of getting an ID,” he said.
Eastern Cape labour department spokesman, Ziphozihle Josefu, promised to investigate.
“We don’t allow companies to employ people without IDs. But the injured person must be compensated for the incident and the previous one,” he said.
