KEY POINTS
- The law enforcement action against employers resulted in 68 businesses being each issued a R10,000 fine that accumulated into R680,000 in total penalties.
- The process of immigration processing took place for 322 undocumented foreign nationals.
- Work permit application rejections totaled 5,383 during 2023-24 while the authorities approved 872 permits.
The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) assessed 68 employers resulting in R680,000 worth of fines due to illegal work permit violations.
These penalties emerged during inspections conducted jointly by the Department of Home Affairs with enforcement officials across the Department of Home Affairs as well as law enforcement.
Employers alongside foreign workers now face legal repercussions
The nationwide inspections led Minister Nomakhosazana Meth to discover 322 foreign nationals who worked without proper paperwork. The employers who employed undocumented workers paid penalties totaling R680,000 as each employer received a R10,000 fine. Afterward, authorities sent the illegal workers to immigration processing.
According to the report, employers in the Eastern Cape faced the most violations which led authorities to levy R340,000 in fines making it the region with the largest total fines amount.
After the Eastern Cape came Mpumalanga with 15 employers fined and Limpopo with eight cases and KwaZulu-Natal with five employers fined. Among all the provinces Limpopo had the most undocumented workers numbering at 163 individuals.
Work permits continue to experience high rates of refusal
Work permit applications numbered 6,255 at the department between April 2023 to March 2024 yet 5,383 applications faced rejection while only 872 received approval. The department granted approval to only 872 work permits while most foreign applicants originated from Zimbabwe (445) Lesotho (250) Mozambique (86) and Namibia (70).
The DEL makes recommendations about corporate work visas to Home Affairs yet the final approval authority lies solely with the department which conducts extra security assessments before making final decisions.
