{"id":861638,"date":"2026-05-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=861638"},"modified":"2026-05-27T11:12:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:12:01","slug":"new-laws-for-workers-in-south-africa-are-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/861638\/new-laws-for-workers-in-south-africa-are-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"New laws for workers in South Africa are coming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has gazetted its intention to table the Employment Services Amendment Bill in the National Assembly shortly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The draft Bill was approved by the Cabinet a year ago, and has been promised by the DEL as a way to modernise the regulation of South Africa&#8217;s labour market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Broadly, the laws aim to regulate the employment of foreign nationals and &#8220;enhance job opportunities for South African citizens&#8221;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bill amends the Employment Services Act 4 of 2014 to address rising unemployment and the high representation of foreign nationals in specific, lower-skilled sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, the bill will work hand in hand with the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP), which provides a framework for managing foreign labour. The bill, meanwhile, provides policy legal force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NLMP introduces quotas on the total number of documented foreign nationals with work visas that can be employed in major economic sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A quota may apply to a sector of the economy, an occupational category, or a geographical area\u2014but can only be established after consulting the Employment Services Board and considering public comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of the gazetted notice, the DEL said that new laws will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Insert and amend certain definitions in order to clarify expressions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Extend the scope of the Act to cover foreign nationals, private employment agencies not operating for gain, and workers; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regulate the employment of foreign nationals in South Africa in a manner consistent with the purpose of the Act, the Immigration Act and the Refugees Act;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide for the powers of the Minister to make regulations in respect of matters related to labour migration; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expand the functions of the Employment Services Board; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide for the establishment and governance of Supported Employment Enterprises; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide for further offences and the improved enforcement of the Act and immigration laws regulating work by foreign nationals; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide for exemptions from the Act; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide for the making of further regulations by the Minister; and <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide for matters connected therewith.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When the cabinet approved the bill, it said it would also promote national security and national interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The purpose of the Bill is to propose the regulation of labour brokers to prevent worker exploitation, such as the provision of cheap labour through undocumented foreign nationals,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tensions rising between South Africans and foreign nationals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/immigration.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/immigration-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-861447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/immigration-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/immigration-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/immigration-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/immigration-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/immigration.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The gazetting of the intention to table the Employment Services Amendment Bill comes as tensions between South Africans and foreign nationals are heating up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the year since the cabinet approved the draft bill, protest groups have gained momentum in targeting foreign nationals in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While these groups take specific aim at illegal or undocumented foreigners in the country, intimidation and threats have caught legal foreigners in the net as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anti-illegal-immigration group, March and March, has been leading the charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frustrated South Africans, especially those without jobs, often blame foreign nationals for taking what little work is available in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DEL and the Department of Home Affairs have also executed several sweeps and crackdowns on employers in the country who have been hiring undocumented workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>March and March has been protesting against illegal immigrants since its formation in early 2025, but tensions have since escalated, with heated clashes in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The group is now demanding the immediate and mass deportation of illegal immigrants currently living in South Africa, and has set 30 June as the deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also moving ahead with a planned national shutdown on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matters have escalated to the point that hundreds of foreign nationals and refugees have spent several nights sleeping outside community centres and police stations to escape threats of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Foreign governments, such as Ghana, have also issued evacuation notices to their citizens, offering them safe passage back to their home countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government convened an urgent meeting at the Union Buildings involving ministers from the Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security Cluster to address the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Defence Minister Angie Motshekga called for calm and urged protesters to treat people with respect and exercise their right to strike within the framework of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/54743-26-5-EmploymentLabour.pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has gazetted its intention to table the Employment Services Amendment Bill in the National Assembly shortly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":855873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[17130],"class_list":["post-861638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-department-of-employment-and-labour"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861644,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861638\/revisions\/861644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}