LABOUR AND MIGRATION
Compliance in a hostile climate The reforms are unfolding against a volatile political background. Protests and attacks in 2026 have affected documented and undocumented migrants alike. A compliance audit must not become a nationality purge.
Lawful foreign employees retain contractual and labour rights. Employers should verify status consistently, confidentially and through a defined process, rather than acting on appearance, accent or allegation. They must also distinguish an expired document from evidence of a pending renewal and obtain advice where a person’ s status is unclear.
The immediate task is to know who is working in the business, on what legal basis, under which conditions and with whose oversight. Waiting until quotas are published could leave little time to adjust. Acting as though they already exist would be equally unsound.
South Africa’ s migration system will ultimately be judged on more than arrests and inspections. For business, the test is whether it can protect labour standards and expand opportunities for South Africans while allowing legitimate skills and enterprise to cross the border. �
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