Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption permit at the end of 2022 will disrupt the logistics sector in the short term and hit employers financially.
This is the view of Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly following the department of home affairs move to oppose a Pretoria High Court application by The Helen Suzman Foundation to have the decision declared unconstitutional and unlawful. The HSF has asked the court to review Motsoaledi’s decision and order that he undertake a public participation process with affected visa holders and the public regarding the issue.
The department has argued in court papers that the HSF is essentially requesting that the court grant permanent residence to ZEP holders, which was never the intention of the visa.
Kelly said the association had been “very vocal” about the need to resolve the issue.
“From the very beginning we called for a proper assessment by the departments of labour and home affairs as to the number of foreign individuals who were granted permission - through whatever visa / permit/asylum process - to work in the transport sector,” Kelly said.
At the time the issue arose, the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI) only had around 6 000 registered foreign nationals on record who were employed with registered transport companies, according to Kelly. This was out of a total figure of around 125 000 registered employees working in the sector at the time.
“The illegal employment of foreigners has always been the difference between compliant and non-compliant employers in the transport industry. We have continuously called for action to close the loopholes/corrupt practices that have allowed the state of affairs to continue,” he said.
“We support the drive to ensure all foreigners are either legally employed or have to meet the requirements to be allowed to work in the country.”
Individuals registered with the council may have permits/visas that allow work - or they may be here under the soon-to-become-invalid ZEPs.
“This would have an immediate impact on operations as not all are drivers. Companies will need to replace these individuals to ensure compliance and need to recruit, should they require these vacancies to be filled,” Kelly said.
“A process of terminating employment will need to be lawfully implemented as these individuals (registered with Council) are currently legally employed. In the short term, there may be disruptions to operations, but there will definitely be a cost driver into the logistics chain," he said.
The question remains as to how quickly suitably skilled individuals could be sourced to replace foreigners who now need to vacate their jobs.
“The association has always called for compliance within the industry and for the various departments to apply the current legislation,” Kelly said.
