Use of foreigners as cheap labour ‘must stop’
Amajuba
officials say urgent action's needed to deal with the exploitation of foreign
nationals for cheap labour.
A group of more than 200 undocumented migrants was nabbed at four textile factories, owned by Chinese entities, in Newcastle last week.
During their raid, police found people aged between 18 and 51 years, working inside the warehouses.
At least 260 undocumented foreign nationals are due to face charges in a Newcastle Magistrate's Court on Monday.
"The whole gist of these companies employing foreign nationals is because they know they don't have any rights. They cannot complain to the department of labour. they are being used as cheap labour,” says District Municipal Mayor Ndabuko Zulu.
The owners of the factories are facing charges of breaching immigration rules.
They're out on bail.
Zulu called for a stricter enforcement of labour laws.
"We have to enforce the laws of this country and to do proper oversight and monitoring of these places so that we curb all these problems that we are seeing. It is up to the leadership of this country to make sure that they do what they need to do."
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