BusinessLive reports that retailer Spar has denied wittingly hiring undocumented migrants as alleged by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), which is driving a crackdown.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba vowed last week to take action against businesses employing undocumented migrants and he said the authorities had arrested 63 migrants working at three Spar branches. Spar store managers at the retailer’s Montana, Doornpoort and Zambezi outlets will apparently be charged. Spar spokeswoman Stephanie Leclercq on Friday confirmed the arrest of 63 staff members. "These people have been detained, but more than 40 have returned to work as they have been released after showing their valid documentation to the authorities," she said. The remainder of them have documentation, but it seems to be false. Every store in the Spar chain manages its own staff appointments. "The retailer in question is in discussions with the department to establish a way forward in identifying if potential employees’ documentation is are valid or not," said Leclercq.
- Read this report by Khulekani Magubane in full at BusinessLive
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