Durban - POLITICAL parties have taken a
wait-and-see approach to the IFP’s bill proposal that would limit the number of foreign nationals hired by South African businesses.
Liezl van der Merwe, the IFP’s representative on Parliament’s Home Affairs portfolio committee, said the private members’ bill was in the planning phase.
A private members’ bill is a bill introduced by an MP who is not a member of the Cabinet.
She said the party had listened to some of its constituents on how foreign nationals allegedly dominated certain positions in the employment market. Van der Merwe felt there were too many South Africans who were excluded from jobs.
She said the IFP wanted to drive legislation that would force companies to ensure that it was South Africans who were the majority employed and said that an 80:20 ratio was proposed - 80% South African and 20% foreign national.
“It is a patriotic piece of legislation,” she said.
Van der Merwe added that this bill would not apply to skills that were scarce in the country, but was mainly focused on people with lower-skilled jobs.
She said the bill was still in its first phase and had to go through a number of processes such as going through Parliament’s legal services and to engage more with constituents.
This could take two months, Van der Merwe said.
Daniel Dunia, African Solidarity Network spokesperson, said most refugees and asylum seekers came into the country and made do with what they had and started their own businesses.
He felt the IFP was anti-immigration and he was not surprised by the bill.
“What needs to be done is for refugees and asylum seekers to challenge the law,” said Dunia.
Bongani Bongo, the Home Affairs portfolio committee chairperson, said he looked forward to receiving the bill and would only develop a view on it once they had discussed it.
Joe McGluwa, the DA’s spokesperson on Home Affairs, said he could not comment until he had seen the document presented by the IFP.