The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) on Friday confirmed that a draft National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) would be ready by March 2020.

The NLMP aims to equip South Africa with a technically sound policy instrument to strengthen the country’s approach to labour migration and contribute to dealing with this socioeconomic issue.

DEL public employment services chief director Esther Tloane said that while developing the country’s NLMP, the department had to strike a balance in the management of the movement of labour and ensuring South Africans are not displaced.

She noted that South Africa was a “high receiving” country when it came to migrants and that this posed a serious challenge for the country.

Tloane added that government was considering the African Union and Southern African Development Community protocols and other international agreements in drafting the policy.

There are an estimated 280-million migrants worldwide, who move mostly owing to political instability, lack of employment opportunities and climate change.

Tloane said the NLMP would also help to speed up turnaround times and streamline work visa processes; assist in revisiting and clarification of the 60:40 ratio for business visas; assist in the implementation of the skills transfer plan; and help improve collaboration, domestically and externally.

She explained that another critical aspect in the development of the NLMP was the amendment of the country’s Constitution.

“NLMP recommends quotas and identification of [economic] sectors that will be strictly reserved to South Africans. The DEL is in the process of conducting a study on the impact of special dispensations to the local labour market.”