The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has recently fined 68 employers a total of R680,000 for violating immigration laws by employing foreign nationals without valid work permits. Minister Nomakhosazana Meth revealed this information in a parliamentary reply, explaining that her department conducts regular blitz inspections in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs and the police to ensure compliance with immigration and labour laws.
Meth emphasized that while her department is responsible for enforcing labour laws to protect workers, the Department of Home Affairs is tasked with verifying the validity of visas and work permits. When employers fail to comply with immigration regulations, the Department of Home Affairs arrests both the employers and employees involved.
During the most recent blitz, which covered all nine provinces, 68 employers and 322 foreign nationals were found to be in violation of the law. Each of the 68 employers was fined R10,000, totaling R680,000 in fines, while the 322 employees were detained for further processing according to immigration procedures.
The Eastern Cape led the charge, with 34 employers fined a total of R340,000. Mpumalanga had 15 employers caught breaking the law, followed by Limpopo with eight, KwaZulu-Natal with five, and two in the Western Cape. Among the 322 foreign nationals arrested, the largest group—163 individuals—came from Limpopo. The Western Cape accounted for 43 foreign nationals, while Eastern Cape and Gauteng both had 34, Mpumalanga had 30, KwaZulu-Natal had 16, and the Free State had two.
In response to additional questions, Meth also provided insights into the work permit application process. Between April 2023 and March 2024, the department processed 6,255 work permit applications. However, of these, 5,383 were rejected, while 872 were recommended for approval. These applications primarily came from foreign nationals from Zimbabwe (445 applications), Lesotho (250), Mozambique (86), and Namibia (70). The majority of the applications were in sectors such as mining, agriculture, and education.
Meth clarified that while her department provides recommendations on corporate work visas based on local labour availability, the final decision lies with the Department of Home Affairs, which may also consult other government departments, such as those in the security cluster, before granting or waiving these recommendations.
