Government plans quotas for foreign workers

Planned government legislation will introduce quotas on the total number of foreign nationals with work visas that can be employed in major economic sectors, the Department of Employment and Labour has announced.

These sectors include agriculture, hospitality, tourism and construction, to name just a few.

The planned legislation comes after three businesses in Tshwane were fined R2 500 each for contravening the Immigration Act by employing undocumented persons, following a police operation in the area last week.

According to the department, some employers were reportedly also not declaring these employees in their books.

Nor were they covering them in line with social protection measures such as the UIF, pension funds and the workman’s compensation fund.

“These practices are unacceptable,” the department’s statement said.

To tackle such problems, the department has developed a new national labour migration policy and proposed amendments to the existing employment services act.

The new policy will address South Africans’ perceptions that foreign nationals – especially those who are undocumented – were “distorting access to the labour market”.

In addition to the introduction of the quotas, the policy was also expected to be complemented by small business intervention.

This will include a list of “undesirable sectors” where foreign nationals would not be allocated business visas.

Amendments will also be made to the Small Business Act to limit foreign nationals from establishing small, medium-sized, and micro-enterprises and trading in some sectors of the economy.

The Department of Home Affairs will review the Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees Act.

Home Affairs and Border Management Authority were also getting into action to secure porous borders and allow for the orderly movement of people and other nationals across.

The Department of Higher Education and Training has already released a list of scarce and critical skills in high demand to guide institutions so that education and training interventions in those areas could be prioritised.

This list, expected to be a last resort, would be used to allow foreign nationals in possession of the listed skills to be allocated work visas.

“The government will also impose various obligations on both the employer and the foreign national to transfer skills. Permits will be limited to specific durations,” the department said.

These proposals were expected to be released for a three-month public comment process before the end of either February or March if the cabinet approved their submission.

The National Economic Development and Labour Council would also be allowed to adjust the policy and bill during either May or June before it will be submitted to parliament.

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