Submission on the Employment Services Amendment Bill

The HSF is encouraged by the fact that the Bill makes provision for the equal treatment of foreign nationals and South African citizens in the labour market. [...] These values form the basis for the recognition of the fundamental human rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights – the cornerstones of our democracy. [...] Regarding the right to dignity, the HSF’s submission is based on the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal in the matter of Minister of Home Affairs and Others v Watchenuka and Others.12 In Watchenuka, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) considered the validity of a general prohibition imposed on asylum seekers during the first 180 days of their asylum pro- cess, which prevented their employment. [...] Given that the DNLMP is open about the fact that the Ministerial Quota System is be- ing proposed without any data about the effect of foreign nationals on the labour mar- ket, quota systems in respect of foreign nationals will run a perennial risk of judicial review in terms of the abovementioned principles of administrative justice. [...] Given that one of the Act’s many purposes is to give effect to section 23 of the Constitution, the HSF submits that the Ministerial Quota System may well render the Act internally in- consistent, by unjustifiably limiting the right to fair labour practices of foreign nationals.