MIKE MATHABELA

The recent upsurge in anti-immigration anger expressed in various marches around the country has attracted both praise and condemnation from supporters and opposers, including the UN.

It would be the height of gullibility to relegate these marches which attract multitudes of people with diverse political ideologies simply to xenophobia.

A closer scrutiny of the reasons advanced to justify these sentiments lends some legitimacy to these hitherto peaceful protests.

SA’s labour force is widely unionised, even the low-skilled sector which is populated by security guards, farmworkers and domestic employees.

It is a labour force which is alive to the rights accruing from the Labour Relations Act, which guarantees collective bargaining, the right to strike, protection from unfair dismissal and 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.

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

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.

And driven by basic needs both for himself and the struggling families back home, the immigrant gratefully gives to the job more than it requires of his hard labour. He puts in the 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 for, especially, black South Africans, who then have to depend solely on the meagre government grants for survival.

Driven by the legacy of apartheid and unequal access to education and economic opportunities, SA has consistently ranked as the country with the highest 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 the locals, resulting in resentment for migrants who are seen to be taking the jobs that would otherwise be going to South Africans.

The palpable anti-migrant sentiment will not abate until the government ensures SA’s borders are not porous and the regulations against the employment of undocumented migrants are strictly enforced

And as the ranks of the poor swell, the national budget buckles under the pressure of grant payments, which now account for about 61% of our annual budget, constantly increasing the country’s debt.

The poor and unemployed locals are further angered by having to share limited and resource-constrained public facilities like hospitals and schools with undocumented immigrants.

With the township economy largely shared with immigrants, it is understandable that the locals feel disempowered and undermined.

The mostly grant-dependent locals frequently find themselves at the mercy of the economically viable spaza and shop owners through incurring debt for foodstuffs and other necessities.

This has resulted in the alleged display of arrogance and scorn for the locals by some of these spaza traders. Added to this are allegations of the foreigner being the perpetrator of crimes such as drug-peddling, the sale of self-manufactured, unhygienic foodstuffs and even cash-in-transit heists — further fuelling the anti-foreigner sentiment.

SA’s currency is relatively stronger than those of most of the countries from which the migrants trading or working in the country emanate. 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 realistic to expect that the palpable anti-migrant sentiment will not abate until the government ensures SA’s borders are not porous and the regulations against the employment of undocumented migrants are strictly enforced.