By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Employment and Labour minister Thulas Nxesi says for the first time in the history of South Africa, the government has formulated a comprehensive National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP).
In a media briefing on Monday (28 February), Nxesi said the policy has been researched extensively and benchmarked internationally for best practice.
“It has become increasingly apparent, with the rapid expansion of international migration flows that South Africa needs to develop appropriate policy effectively to manage this, “the minister said.
“South Africa is not immune to international migration trends as well as attempts to exploit this for political gain. Our response is to develop an effective NLMP.”
Nxesi said the proposed National Labour Migration Policy aims to achieve a balance across four areas:
- Jobs: The first is to address South Africans’ expectations regarding access to work opportunities, given worsening unemployment and the perception that foreign nationals are distorting labour market access, said Nxesi. “The NLMP, together with proposed legislation, will introduce quotas on the total number of documented foreign nationals with work visas that can be employed in major economic sectors such as Agriculture, Hospitality and Tourism, Construction etc.”
- Small business: The NLMP will be complemented by Small Business intervention and enforcement of a list of sectors where foreign nationals cannot be allocated business visas and amendments to the Small Business Act to limit foreign nationals establishing SMMEs and trading in some sectors of the economy.
- Borders: The Department of Home Affairs is also reviewing current legislation and strengthening the Border Management Authority to secure porous borders and to allow for the orderly movement of people and other nationals through ports of entry only.
- Inspections: Nxesi said his department, together with all relevant authorities, will step up inspections to enforce existing labour and immigration legislation.
New laws proposed
The National Labour Migration Policy goes hand in hand with a proposed Employment Services Amendment Bill.
This will provide a policy framework and the legal basis to regulate the extent to which employers can employ foreign nationals in their establishments while protecting the rights of migrants, Nxesi said.
The proposed amendments to the Employment Services Act aims to limit the extent to which employers can employ the number of foreign nationals in possession of a valid work visa in their employment and codifies the obligations of an employer engaging foreign workers to amongst others:
- Only employ foreign nationals entitled to work in terms of the Immigration Act, the Refugees Act or any other provision;
- Ascertain the foreign national is entitled to work in the Republic in the relevant position;
- Satisfy themselves that there are no South Africans with the requisite skills to fill the vacancy;
- Prepare a skills transfer plan, where appropriate;
- Employ foreign nationals on the same terms as local workers;
- Retain copies of relevant documentation.
“The proposed Amendment Bill proposes a framework that will enable the Minister to set quotas for employment of foreign nationals,” Nxesi said.
“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 consultation with the Employment Services Board and after considering public comments.”
The government is also considering new strategies to keep hold of skilled South Africans as part of its new National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP).
The NLMP, which was published for public comment on Monday (28 February), details several measures to attract skilled workers to the country while keeping undesirable, unskilled workers out.
Attraction and retention of skills, particularly of critical skills, in the country, regardless of whether they are local or foreign, should be made a priority within the provisions of international and national legal obligations, the Department of Employment and Labour said.
This implies that there should be regular updating and closer monitoring of critical skills lists in relation with policy impact and clear management on targets, it said.
“Conversely, since 1994, South Africa has been losing substantial numbers of skilled and experienced professionals to emigration with documented records.”
The department pointed to data from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) which shows 19% of all registered South African Chartered Accountants were working abroad.
Health is another case in point with the World Health Organization (WHO) pointing to South Africa as one of the African countries with the largest number of doctors abroad, it said.
The department added that the emigration of skilled South Africans has not been addressed thoroughly in any policy document for years.