Fostering Fair Labour migration governance in South Africa: policy implications

By: Stanley Ehiane,

The complexity and diversity of the migration narrative have recently escalated in both speed and direction due to the myriad economic, environmental, and political issues that many countries, especially African states are currently facing. Without question, people crossing international borders is a global phenomenon that is growing in both scope and volume.  One of Africa’s most important issues is how to harness the potential of both internal and foreign migration for development. It is important to note that international migration is usually classified into two types: forced or involuntary migration and voluntary migration. However, the focus here is on voluntary migration.

The majority of migration today is motivated by opportunities for better employment and life quality, particularly decent jobs. Indeed, the issue of migration for work affects every country on the African continent. Migrant workers constitute a major proportion of the labour force in many countries, making significant contributions to economies and communities while often having higher labour force participation rates than native workers. Although migrant workers contribute significantly to the economy of both their host and their home countries, their efforts are sometimes disregarded. As a result, there is a need for a comprehensive and balanced strategy for managing labour migration that considers migratory facts, trends, and links to other critical economic, social, political, and humanitarian challenges.

As part of an effort to regulate the influx of individuals into their countries, governments in different countries have developed tracking systems. These systems generally collect biographical information about travelers, as well as information regarding the reason for and duration of their trip. Although it is pervasive, cross-border migration is generally viewed as a problematic phenomenon, and many governments spend a lot of time and money trying to monitor and control who enters and exits their countries.  Even when such limitations are necessary, government responses to migrant flows are frequently based on observation and inference rather than any profound understanding of the volume, breadth, and implications of the movement.

Governance challenges have grown as nations have progressed, and many now require governance solutions as origin, transit, and destination countries. For labour migration governance mechanisms to be effective in satisfying present demands while also supporting firms and employees in adjusting to a changing employment and migration landscape, greater policy and institutional coherence are required. Social discourse and tripartite consensus, according to the International Labour Organization, are superior strategies to develop and support labour migration governance.  Because of its middle-income status, trustworthy democratic institutions, and similarly industrialized economy, South Africa has the most immigrants on the African continent.  Furthermore, the end of apartheid brought closer economic ties between South Africa and its African neighbours. As a result, the proportion of immigration from other parts of Africa grew. Since South Africa gained democracy in 1994, the pattern and size of its migratory movements have changed dramatically.

Today, migration is frequently associated with the pursuit of higher-paying jobs. Employment almost always plays a part in migration, even if it is not the primary cause. Labour migration governance is a development instrument for Southern Africa. Its goal is to improve migration management in Southern Africa and to assist in the attainment of Global Compact for Migration (GCM) Objective 6; facilitate fair and ethical recruiting and ensure good working conditions, as well as Goals 8 and 10 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The migrant labour system has a long history, and it has been utilized by capitalist, colonial, and apartheid authorities to balance competing needs for cheap labour in “white” South African mines and towns and to keep black people in rural areas distant from “white” cities. Migration within the Southern African region is not new. Every SADC member state is a country of origin, a country of transit, or a country of destination in labour migration flows, and they commonly play all three roles at the same time. Increased housing stress, political and social discontent, growing costs, overcrowding, disease transmission, and the marginalization of migrants into low-status and low-paying employment are all consequences of migration in South Africa.

The Immigration Act (No. 13 of 2002), which sets the conditions that must be met by an applicant seeking to immigrate to South Africa permanently, is the legal manifestation of the country’s immigration policy.  The Aliens Control Act of 1991, one of the last laws implemented during the apartheid era, was antithetical to the new democratic state created following apartheid. The measure set harsh sanctions for illegal immigration and assisted individuals who entered the nation illegally. It also provided immigration officials enormous powers to conduct searches and make arrests. Nonetheless, the Aliens Control Act, which had its origins in apartheid, remained in effect for several years after the advent of democracy and was responsible for thousands of arrests and deportations each year. The Aliens Control Act was replaced by the Immigration Act of 2002. This statute maintained a focus on promoting skilled labour migration while opposing unlawful immigration. The rule was later amended in 2007 and 2011 to reflect the changed nature of South Africa’s landscape, although some characteristics of the apartheid era’s emphasis on admitting particular types of immigrants while excluding others remain.

The Refugees Act of 1998 allows asylum seekers to travel freely, work, and attend school in the country during the lengthy adjudication procedure.  However, subsequent legislative changes in 2008, 2011, and 2017 attempted to limit these rights, in part in response to concerns that the asylum system was being abused by people who did not have a genuine fear of persecution to obtain work status.

South Africa’s government, like other nations, has prioritized security and has grown to consider irregular migrants as dangers to its security. In its 2017 White Paper on International Migration for South Africa, for example, the government raised concern over irregular immigration, claiming that it leads to intolerable levels of corruption, human rights violations, and national security dangers.  According to the 2017 government assessment, irregular migration of low-skilled or unskilled labour from elsewhere in SADC was threatening the country’s economic stability and national sovereignty.

Despite the country’s long history of immigration and sporadic efforts at legalization, many segments of South African society have expressed xenophobic sentiments toward immigrants, including legally present workers and asylum seekers. According to the Xenowatch xenophobia monitoring platform, worries of foreign-born persons in South Africa frequently emerge in violence. The worst of this violence, which frequently included South Africans of indigenous descent, occurred in May 2008. Other notable incidents include rioting in Johannesburg’s Central Business District and Jeppestown in September 2019, which destroyed foreign-owned businesses.

A global network of organizations known as the Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP) was founded to promote awareness of the links between migration and development in the Southern African Development Community.  By preserving the rights of vulnerable populations such as migrant workers, refugees, children, and victims of human trafficking, the purpose is to regulate mixed migration and enable lawful labour movement. The primary purpose is to encourage safe, orderly, and dignified movement to improve migration governance. It enhances the socioeconomic well-being of immigrants and society by adhering to international standards and laws.

It is critical to encourage improved migration management in Southern Africa to overcome the challenges surrounding migration and ensure that it benefits the nation, migrants, and members of their families. The SADC area, without a doubt, lacks a strong regional structure for coordinating labour migration. Despite efforts to gradually remove barriers to travel within the region’s 16 countries, these goals have mainly gone unfulfilled.  Although SADC Member States have implemented several bilateral agreements that frequently allow visa-free travel, there has been little support for an innovative regional migration plan to address future challenges. The region’s main destination country, South Africa, as well as the migrants’ home nations, communities, and individuals, would all profit enormously from such a formal system to govern the flow of foreign labour.

Dr. Stanley O. Ehiane is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and Administrative Studies at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana, and a Senior Research Associate in the School of Public Management and Governance, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He writes in his capacity.