- Anti-immigration protests cannot simply be dismissed as xenophobia and are rooted in deeper socio-economic frustrations.
- Weak labour enforcement and the exploitation of undocumented migrants are contributing to unemployment and inequality.
- Public anger is also being fuelled by pressure on services, allegations of crime, and perceptions of economic exclusion.
South Africa’s recent upsurge in anti-immigration anger, expressed in various marches around the country, has attracted both praise and condemnation from supporters and opponents, including the UN, respectively.
It would be the height of gullibility to relegate these marches, which attract multitudes of people with diverse political ideologies, simply to xenophobia. Closer scrutiny of the reasons advanced to justify these sentiments lends some legitimacy to these hitherto peaceful protests.
South Africa’s labour force is widely unionised, even in the low-skilled sector, which is populated by security guards, farmworkers, and domestic employees. It is a labour force that is aware of the rights accruing from the Labour Relations Act, which guarantees collective bargaining, the right to strike, protection from unfair dismissal, perpetual casualisation, the national minimum wage, working hours, and other rights. These rights have been irksome to some employers for many years, leading to the DA’s persistent call for their liberalisation in order, it says, to encourage job creation opportunities.
With the woefully low capacity of the Department of Labour’s inspectorate, which is also prone to bribery, it is thus no surprise who gets the job when a South African and an undocumented immigrant show up at the small factory gate, the service station, the farm, the private residence, and many other low-skill, labour-seeking places.
Driven by basic needs, both for self and for struggling families back home, the immigrant gratefully gives more to the job than is required of his hard labour. He puts in productively long hours for less than the national minimum wage, tolerating racism and even inhumane treatment at times.
Under these circumstances, the undocumented immigrant thus becomes the natural choice for most other job opportunities, resulting in increasing levels of unemployment, especially for Black South Africans, who then have to depend solely on meagre government grants for survival.
Growing inequality and pressure on public services
Driven by the legacy of apartheid and unequal access to education and economic opportunities, South Africa has consistently ranked as one of the countries with the highest levels of inequality in the world, with the top 10% of its population owning roughly 66% of the total wealth.
The high unemployment rate, now exacerbated by undocumented migrants taking up most of the menial jobs on offer, is worsening the disparity statistics, with the poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer as their profits balloon due to sub-minimum wage payments for more work.
This fuels anger among locals, resulting in resentment toward migrants who are seen to be taking jobs that would otherwise go to South Africans. As the ranks of the poor swell, the national budget buckles under the pressure of grant payments, which now account for a significant portion of annual government spending, constantly increasing the country’s debt burden.
Poor and unemployed locals are further angered by having to share limited and resource-constrained public facilities, such as hospitals and schools, with undocumented immigrants.
Township economies and resentment toward foreigners
With the township economy largely in the hands of foreigners, it is understandable that many locals feel disempowered and undermined. The mostly grant-dependent locals frequently find themselves at the mercy of economically viable spaza and shop owners through incurring debt for foodstuffs and other necessities.
This has resulted in alleged displays of arrogance and scorn toward locals by some of these traders. Added to this are allegations of foreigners being perpetrators of crimes such as drug peddling, the sale of self-manufactured, unhygienic foodstuffs, and even cash-in-transit heists, further fuelling anti-foreigner sentiment.
Concerns over money flowing to home countries
South Africa’s currency is relatively stronger than that of most of the countries from which migrants trading or working in the country originate. Thus, most spaza shop owners insist on selling their goods for cash, which is rarely banked. Those who do accept card payments usually charge an extra fee.
It is widely believed that the money accumulated is sent to migrants’ strife-torn countries for, among other things, alleviating family hunger and other needs in Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, the DRC, Burundi, Malawi, and Mozambique; financing rebel or opposition groupings in home countries; and channelling funds toward internal security conflicts, for example, Somalia’s fight against Al Shabaab.
Given the foregoing reasons, it is realistic to expect that the palpable anti-migrant sentiment will not abate until the government ensures that South Africa’s borders are no longer porous and that regulations against the employment of undocumented migrants are strictly enforced.
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