South Africa’s immigration crackdown divides Johannesburg’s inner city
A government push to curb undocumented employment is exposing the dependence of many small businesses on migrant labour. Click here to share on social media
A government push to curb undocumented employment is exposing the dependence of many small businesses on migrant labour. Click here to share on social media Johannesburg, South Africa – In the narrow lanes of Fordsburg in central Johannesburg, Junaid Mohammed* stands behind the counter of a family shop that has been in his family for decades. His father started it as a general dealer. Today, it survives on cheap Chinese imports and shrinking margins. Junaid, who asks us to use a pseudonym, does not call it a decline. He calls it survival. But the bigger change is not what he sells. It is who he employs. Junaid only employs foreign nationals as store assistants and packers. “It was not a deliberate choice,” he says. It began with cost. Then habit. Then necessity. “It became expensive to hire locals,” he says. South Africa’s minimum wage is about $1.87 per hour, roughly $324 per month, plus statutory contributions and strong labour protections. Junaid says he cannot carry it. He pays about $12 a day, below the legal minimum, and hires workers only when business allows. “If we do well, we can hire more. But when we are not busy, we can say we don’t need you now,” he says. Pressure beyond the shop Outside, pressure is rising. Across South Africa, vigilante groups such as Operation Dudula and the March and March movement have carried out “citizen raids” on businesses accused of hiring foreign nationals. Some have turned violent. At the same time, the state is tightening enforcement.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned vigilante action and promised to hire 10,000 labour inspectors. For employers like Junaid, the squeeze now comes from both directions. A violation of labour law could shut him down. “I don’t know what I am going to do,” he says. Labour, law, and blame Anti-immigrant sentiment has hardened. Some groups blame undocumented migrants for unemployment and demand their removal. The government insists enforcement is about legality, not politics. But its language is blunt. “The reason why you see a number of companies employing illegal foreign immigrants is because, for them, it’s cheap labour. It’s about exploitation. It’s about making profit,” South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Labour Jomo Sibiya, told Al Jazeera. He added: “If this worker gets injured … they don’t have any obligation to take him to hospital or report it.” Still, he distinguishes between documented and undocumented workers. “We are not saying there shouldn’t be a foreign national who comes to work in South Africa … We are saying we can’t continue having job opportunities being taken by people who are illegally in the country.” South Africa’s unemployment rate is about 33 percent. Youth unemployment is far higher, exceeding 60 percent for the youngest 15-24 demographic. Government officials argue that high unemployment has made labour enforcement an economic as well as an immigration issue. They say employers who hire undocumented migrants can gain an unfair advantage by paying below legal wage standards and avoiding some of the obligations that come with formal employment.
The BriefWire