The Sunday Independent reports that according to a proposed Employment Services Amendment Bill to be tabled by the IFP, foreign nationals could be barred from working in some unskilled and semi-skilled jobs in some sectors of the SA economy.  

IFP MP Liezl van der Merwe will table new legislation that will propose, inter alia, that employers may not employ a foreign national in the country without an applicable and valid work visa and ensuring that the numerical target prescribed by Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has been reached.  According to the IFP’s proposed Bill, employers may hire foreign nationals only after satisfying themselves that there is no other person in SA with suitable skills to fill that vacancy.  According to the party, the high rate of unemployed South Africans and the high representation of foreign nationals employed in lower occupation levels, particularly in the unskilled sector, was a critical concern.  The IFP also stated that there was a perception by South African citizens that foreign nationals were “taking their jobs”, which it believed exacerbates xenophobia.  ””Therefore, it is imperative to regulate the employment of foreign nationals in the Republic, in order to stem the narrative that the ratio of job opportunities between foreign nationals and South African citizens are skewed towards foreign nationals,” the IFP stated.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Loyiso Sidimba on page 1 of The Sunday Independent of 13 December 2020

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