Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Boitumelo Moloi told employers that the Department has noted with concern that the agricultural and mining sector employers are employing undocumented foreign nationals.
Moloi was delivering her keynote address at an Employers Session held at the Kuruman Lodge in Kuruman on Thursday.
“There is a misconception that South Africans are lazy, resulting in employers hiring undocumented foreign nationals. This perception is not true. Farm murders are made worse because these undocumented foreign nationals cannot be traced or found as we do not have their details,” Moloi said.
Moloi told the gathering that the department is busy with the National Migration Policy which will assist with the regulation of employment of foreign nationals.
She called on employers to engage the government. “We need to talk to each other. You must tell us what you want from our learning institutions,” she said.
She warned the employers on the dangers of high level of unemployment among the youth in the country.
She said youth unemployment is a time bomb. “Imagine what will happen if one day, the youth decide to close your workplaces where you employ undocumented foreign nationals. The situation will be terrible,” she said.
The Deputy Minister said that the department has no intention to penalise undocumented foreign nationals, but would like to assist them in complying with the laws of the country.
She requested them to call the department if they in doubt or need assistance.
Moloi encouraged employers to utilise the department’s Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) to register their vacancies and use the system to get employees.
Following the meeting with employers, Deputy Minister Moloi went to Mothibistad where she launched a Mobile Employment Centre.
There she told the youths to use the facilities to their advantage and stop paying labour brokers for placements.
She warned them against their tendency to choose jobs, looking for higher post jobs as well as using social media platforms to their disadvantage.
Moloi said the youth must stop being selective on jobs because they will never know what they are best at until they try it.
She further encouraged them to clean their social media platforms as some prospective employers use them for selection.
The event was held in collaboration with other government departments, Sector Education & Training Authorities (SETAs) and the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality.
The Department’s Public Employment Service registered more than 700 job-seekers at the event and the project concludes today at Thabo Moorosi Multipurpose Centre.