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Following the release of the draft National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) together with the proposed Employment Services (ES) Amendment Bill in February 2022 by Employment and Labour Minister, Mr Thulas Nxesi, for public comment - tomorrow (31 May) is the D-day for submission of inputs.  

Over the past two months (April and May) the department has been on a national drive conducting workshops on the two policy instruments. The Department of Employment and Labour published and placed a gazette on its website on the draft National Labour Migration Policy and the proposed ES Amendment Bill. The department through its Public Employment Services (PES) branch had developed the draft for the consultations that will lay the basis to engage with stakeholders in a series of national consultations/dialogues.

The national workshops to elicit stakeholder input end tomorrow with a session in Tzaneen tomorrow (31 May). 

Through the draft NLMP the department seeks to guide and coordinate the development process leading to the adoption of South Africa’s labour migration strategy, while the Employment Services (ES) Amendment Bill – is intended to extend the scope of the Act to cover private employment agencies nor operating for profit gain, to regulate the employment of foreign nationals in South Africa, to expand the scope of the Act to cover employees and workers, to expand the functions of the Employment Services board and the powers of the Minister to make regulations in respect of matters related to labour migration, to provide for the governance of Supported Employment Enterprises, to provide for the improved enforcement of the Act and laws regulating work by foreign nationals, and to provide for matters connected therewith. 

During the release of the two documents the Minister urged all social parties to use the next 90 days to submit their inputs.

Department of Employment and Labour Chief Director: Employer Services Esther Tloane said after the closing date there would be a consolidation of inputs to refine and adjust the two documents (draft NLMP and the ES Bill). She said this will be followed by a presentation to Cabinet clusters and later a presentation to Nedlac before the documents are sent back to Cabinet again for further interrogation before they are sent to Parliament for consideration.  

The development of the draft NLMP has its genesis in the 2013 Employment and Labour Sector (ELS) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the tripartite structure under the SADC Ministries of Employment and Labour, when they adopted an Action Plan on Labour Migration.

Minister Nxesi said the policy aims to achieve a balance in addressing South Africans’ expectations regarding access to work opportunities, given worsening unemployment and the perception that foreign nationals are distorting labour market access while introducing quotas on sectors such as Agriculture, Hospitality and Tourism, Construction etcetera.

Comments on the draft NLMP and ES Amendment Bill documents accessible on the Department’s website at www.labour.gov.za can be sent to: NLMP@labour.gov.za

Issued by Department of Employment and Labour