ANC’s Ramathuba Wants SA Employers Arrested For Hiring Undocumented Foreign Nationals

A senior South African government official and ANC leader has called for employers who hire undocumented migrants to be prosecuted.

Speaking to eNCA in Polokwane, Limpopo, on International Workers’ Day, ANC Limpopo chairperson Phophi Ramathuba said employing undocumented migrants is a criminal offence that breaches South Africa’s labour laws.

She said South Africa has progressive laws and policies and that her office is working with the Department of Employment and Labour. Discussions have already taken place with the minister and deputy minister about labour inspectors.

Ramathuba argued that enforcement should focus on employers. She said that arrests should occur when employers hire undocumented workers in sectors not classified as requiring rare skills, such as ordinary farm and general workers.

She used herself as an example, saying the law should act on an employer who hires such a person and that charges should be brought against that employer.

Shutting off demand, she said, would reduce the influx of undocumented migrants. People do not appoint themselves, she added. Employers appoint them, and employers who know the law must be held accountable.

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