COSATU: Ramaphosa’s Sona must clarify policies on employing foreign nationals

JOHANNESBURG - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday said that it would like to hear President Cyril Ramaphosa give clarity on the implementation of policies regarding the employment of foreigners during his State of the Nation Address (Sona).

Last week, the Home Affairs Department gazetted an updated critical skills list for South Africa highlighting scarce skills in the country.

This comes amid heightened tensions on the prioritisation of foreign nationals in certain fields.

Cosatu's parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said that Ramaphosa had not tabled any formal policy on the employment of foreigners in certain sectors.

But he said that Ramaphosa may announce his intentions during his Sona.

He said the country already had laws to monitor the employment of foreigners: “So it speaks to that a company must at least employ 60% of its staff from South African workers. If you hire migrant workers, then that skill must not be available locally and should provide proof that they have advertised the job and everyone who qualified applied.”

Parks said that Cosatu was looking forward to hearing some bold interventions from the president on how to salvage the South African economy.