The Secretary-General of the GOOD Party, Brett Herron, has called for more engagements on issues of migrant labour following the recent violence between Lesotho and Zimbabwean nationals in the Western Cape.
Around 200 people, mostly women and children were forced to evacuate Nkqubela in Robertson last week, and seek refuge at a local police station.
Some organisations say the unrest was a direct result of labour rights violations in the agriculture sector including the alleged exploitation of immigrant farmworkers and the use of labour brokers.
Herron says the low unemployment rate among South Africans needs to be addressed.
“What we saw in Robertson has really shown us how the agricultural sector is bypassing employing locals and using labour brokers to bring in irregular migrant labour. So, I think we need to balance the advantages and benefits that migrant labour does bring. There is a lot of economic activity, especially those who create businesses, that they bring to SA. But we also need to engage with sectors like Agriculture to say we need the phasing out of bringing migrant labourers with such high unemployment of South Africans in these rural towns,” says Herron.
Below is the full interview with Brett Herron:
Unpacking the proposed employment quotas for foreign workers:
