A Durban call centre for a major clothing retailer has been busted for working illegally during the Covid-19 lockdown.

On Thursday police visited the premises in the Durban CBD and found that it was operating in contravention of disaster management regulations in that the business was not an essential service.

Two managers were arrested.

“It was established that the call centre was conducting debt collecting for reputable clothing chain stores. Observation of the premises revealed that the staff operated in open cubicles without the relevant PPE (personal protective equipment),” said police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo.

According to the 123 staff found on site, they were threatened that they would be fired if they did not come to work.

This comes a week after another Durban call centre, CCI, was also found to be operating illegally during the lockdown. Its CEO, Mark Deva Chana, was released on R5,000 bail in the Verulam magistrate’s court on Tuesday.