The government has stepped up its clampdown on businesses that hire illegal immigrants after two farmers were recently arrested on charges of human trafficking for employing undocumented workers.
The warning about non-compliance with immigration and work visa rules was issued by Xpatweb, which hosted its Global Mobility Conference recently. The firm conducts research on immigration and assists businesses with visa applications for foreign workers.
The company said in a statement on Thursday that the arrest of the two farmers for having 39 undocumented Mozambican nationals on their premises indicated that the government was taking swift action regarding the problem. Both farmers are currently being held in custody on 18 charges, including human trafficking, and were again denied bail at their hearing earlier this week. The decision is currently under appeal.
“One version is that the undocumented workers allegedly turned against the farmers during inspection claiming that they were working in the country against their free will,” Xpatweb said.
During the firm’s recent conference, Deputy Director of Corporate Accounts at the Department of Home Affairs, Ben Makhalemele, warned delegates to ensure that their firms were compliant with the Immigration Act and its regulations.
“He highlighted that with recent developments and a push from government to oust all illegal immigrants from South Africa, the Department of Labour, along with Home Affairs have been conducting increasing inspections on companies to ensure immigration compliance,” Xpatweb said.
“He explained that it was the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their employees were in possession of legally obtained work visas. He confirmed that the department is taking a ‘no-mercy’ stance and cautioned all employers that should they be found to have foreign workers without the necessary work visa, the company will be fined and both the owner/CEO of the company, as well as the head of HR, may face criminal charges and imprisonment.”
HR executives at the conference said that as employers they often had to rely on employees to provide the correct paperwork as they themselves were not experts in immigration matters.
However, Makhalemele responded that businesses were expected to know what was required for the issuing of compliant visas and that ignorance of the law was not an excuse. He specifically referred to section 49(3) of the Immigration Act, which criminalises the employment of illegal foreigners, with penalties that could lead to the arrest of HR executives and imprisonment of up to five years.
“Business should take note that any person found on your premises, whether formally employed by you or working as a contractor, is deemed to be your responsibility,” Xpatweb said.
