Construction, hospitality in the spotlight.
Employers who flout labour laws and merely budget for and pay fines when found out will have to change course and comply: the Department of Employment and Labour is tightening the screws.
This was the message at a “deep dive” with journalists held in Pretoria by Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth and her deputy Jomo Sibiya.
Undocumented foreigners in SA
Meth made it clear that employers who appoint undocumented foreigners rather than South Africans and exploit them by paying less than the minimum wage will be dealt with severely.
This comes against the backdrop of increasing protests about the large number of undocumented foreigners in the country, who are accused of taking the available jobs and thereby leaving South Africans unemployed.
The country’s unemployment figures have been stuck north of 30% since 2021. Among young people it is even higher, especially among those without tertiary education.
More inspectors, higher fines
The department has already started to drastically increase the number of labour inspectors, and reform of current labour laws will see fines increased substantially.
In future, the department will also lay criminal charges against such employers.
Sibiya says the department “is changing the whole picture in terms of compliance”.
He dismisses the excuse non-compliant employers raise that South Africans don’t want to work.
He says this practice is especially prevalent in the construction and hospitality sectors, which are among the most labour-intensive sectors in the economy.
Restaurants are most problematic
The department is working with industry bodies in the hospitality sector, taking an advocacy approach. The department is aiming for a better understanding of labour laws and says it is seeing some progress.
Sibiya says individually owned restaurants are problematic and employers often find themselves on the wrong side of labour laws.
He adds that illegal labour practices are rife in the construction industry, which will be a focus area for enforcement.
“We arrested 79 illegal immigrants on one building site in the Western Cape and more than 100 across two sites in Ekurhuleni.”
The department will however also engage industry bodies in this sector and will follow a “carrot and stick” approach, says Sibiya.
He emphasises that by law, only foreigners with scarce skills should get work permits to allow their employment in South Africa. He notes that the department’s hands are somewhat tied, because it does not have the powers to enforce immigration laws.
More ‘boots on the ground’
Meth says the retail, agricultural and transport industries are also in the spotlight for unlawful employment practices.
A total of 10 000 inspector assistants were appointed in the previous financial year, and by the end of April approximately 3 800 had started their training and deployment, according to Meth.
“A further 3 500 recruits recently completed their security screening and were awaiting appointment letters before end of May 2026, while 2 700 are undergoing security screening to be completed by June 2026,” she adds.
“These young inspector assistants represent the new boots on the ground in the fight against labour exploitation, non-compliance and workplace injustice.”
Making young South Africans more hireable
As part of the department’s efforts to make young people more employable, a programme will be implemented from July to assist them in getting their driver’s licences, since this is often a requirement to get a job, says Meth.
In this regard, the department engaged Road Traffic Management Agency (RTMC), the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta), and the South African Local Government Association (Salga), which represents municipalities.
The RTMC will lead the implementation, which will start with the training of 20 000 young people from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in July.
Delivery drivers who frequent the roads on small motorcycles will be included in the programme, which will also be rolled out in high schools. Young people who own driving schools will be contracted to assist with the training.
This programme is funded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The UIF will in the next six months complete its move to a new digital platform, which will make it much easier for claimants to know what their credit in the fund is, when they will be paid, and how much.
They will be able to track progress with their claim through an app on their phones.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.