The cabinet has approved the Employment Services Amendment Bill for submission to parliament and has approved the white paper on National Labour Migration Policy for implementation, paving the way for tighter regulation of foreign nationals employed in key sectors of the economy.
The move is part of the government’s wider plan to overhaul SA’s immigration laws, particularly in sectors deemed critical to the country’s economic and social development.
The initiatives aim to promote fair labour practices, ensure the prioritisation of local workers and address imbalances in the labour market by setting clear guidelines for the hiring of foreign nationals.
The National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) White Paper seeks to address concerns about foreign nationals affecting local employment opportunities, especially amid rising unemployment.
The policy introduces quotas for the employment of foreign workers in major sectors such as agriculture, hospitality, tourism and construction, and complements existing measures such as sector restrictions on foreign business visas and limitations on foreign-owned small business.
“The policy complements other interventions such as enforcement of a list of sectors where foreign nationals cannot be allocated business visas, and amendments to the National Small Enterprise Act, 1996 (Act 102 of 1996), as amended, to limit foreign nationals establishing small, medium and micro enterprises, and trading in some sectors of the economy,” minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in a post-cabinet media briefing on Thursday.
Similarly, the Employment Services Amendment Bill provides a legal framework to regulate the employment of foreign nationals.
“The purpose of the Bill is to propose the regulation of labour brokers to prevent worker exploitation, such as the provision of cheap labour through undocumented foreign nationals. It further creates consistency between the provisions of the Immigration Act, (Act 13 of 2002) and the Refugees Act (Act 130 of 1998),” Ntshavheni said.
“The bill proposes a framework that will enable the minister of employment and labour [Nomakhosazana Meth] to set quotas for the employment of foreign nationals.
“A quota may apply in respect of a sector of the economy, an occupational category or a geographical area. The minister will establish a quota in a sector after consulting the Employment Services Board and considering public comments.”
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