Labour and Civic Organization, along with unemployed youth shut down operations at City Deep market today alleging that too many undocumented foreigners are employed there.
As thousands of South Africans take to the streets to protest against what they see as an influx of undocumented foreign nationals taking jobs, Statistics South Africa’s latest jobs survey shows that 80,000 jobs were shed in the first quarter - 121,000 year-on-year.
Employment has become one of the defining public issues in South Africa, underpinning Monday’s nationwide “March and March” demonstrations in cities including Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg.
The movement argues that stricter enforcement of immigration laws is needed to protect jobs for South African citizens, calling for stronger action against employers hiring undocumented foreign nationals and tighter regulation of informal trade.
Critics, however, have warned that the campaign risks fuelling xenophobia and unfairly attributing South Africa’s deep-rooted unemployment crisis to migrants.
