The Road Freight Association (RFA) has welcomed last week’s clampdown in KwaZulu-Natal on foreign nationals suspected of illegally working in South Africa’s logistics sector, saying that it’s high time decisive action was taken to deal with the problem.
It comes after 135 people, including several employers, were arrested for contravening various laws pertaining to working and living in South Africa.
Speaking at Friday’s raid on a logistics company in Durban, Westmead Mining, KZN Premier Thami Ntuli said that some of the undocumented foreign nationals were wanted by the South African Police Service for suspected criminal activity.
He said that before being deported, they would have to face charges in court for the crimes they are suspected of having committed.
Friday’s clampdown followed a similar raid the previous Wednesday, where some 80 foreign nationals were arrested, followed by a further 20 the next day.
Ntuli expressed his regret that last week’s raid had led to business closure but added that it was deplorable for employers to exploit undocumented workers in such a manner.
RFA chief executive Gavin Kelly said the association “has for a number of years called on the various authorities that both manage and regulate workers in South Africa to get their act together".
He stressed that strong measures didn't just pertain to the Labour Relations Act, but also to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and how employers and companies are governed.
" The RFA fully supports the various departments and their structures doing what they're actually supposed to do.
“This is not something new and we have said countless times that if the Department of Labour had only done these sorts of things, we would not have seen the advent of the ATDF (All Truck Drivers Foundation) and all those attacks and burnings that have happened over the last six to seven years," Kelly said.
ATDF-Allied South Africa spokesperson, Freeman Bhengu, said the organisation was glad to see that action was being taken against the illegal employment of undocumented foreign nationals in KZN, long ago identified for the number of logistics operators breaking the law.
Kelly said the ATDF-ASA had been quiet for the last year or so, most likely because of the perception that the relevant authorities were taking charge.
He said that although it was regrettable to see companies closing, employers not abiding by the law should face the consequences.
What’s important, though, is that law enforcement is done transparently, and that due process is followed, Kelly said.
“What we have been saying is that the authorities must deal with those employers who don’t play by the rules.”
