For the first time in the history of South Africa, the government has formulated a comprehensive National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP), says Employment and Labour minister Thulas Nxesi.<\/p>\n
In a media briefing on Monday (28 February), Nxesi said the policy has been researched extensively and benchmarked internationally for best practice.<\/p>\n
“It has become increasingly apparent, with the rapid expansion of international migration flows that South Africa needs to develop appropriate policy effectively to manage this,” the minister said.<\/p>\n
“South Africa is not immune to international migration trends as well as attempts to exploit this for political gain. Our response is to develop an effective NLMP.”<\/p>\n
Nxesi said the proposed National Labour Migration Policy aims to achieve a balance across four areas:<\/p>\n
New laws proposed<\/strong><\/p>\n The National Labour Migration Policy goes hand in hand with a proposed Employment Services Amendment Bill.<\/p>\n This will provide a policy framework and the legal basis to regulate the extent to which employers can employ foreign nationals in their establishments while protecting the rights of migrants, Nxesi said.<\/p>\n The proposed amendments to the Employment Services Act aims to limit the extent to which employers can employ the number of foreign nationals in possession of a valid work visa in their employment and codifies the obligations of an employer engaging foreign workers to amongst others:<\/p>\n “The proposed Amendment Bill proposes a framework that will enable the Minister to set quotas for employment of foreign nationals,” Nxesi said.<\/p>\n “A quota may apply in respect of a sector of the economy, an occupational category or a geographical area. The Minister will establish a quota in a sector after consultation with the Employment Services Board and after considering public comments.”<\/p>\n\n
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