CWAO IN THE NEWS

Employers are exploiting the climate around undocumented migration to carry out unfair dismissals and unlawful pseudo-retrenchments of foreign nationals, says a labour union for casual workers.

This comes after nearly 100 Malawian nationals who had worked at HarvestFresh in Meyerton, Gauteng, for between five and 15 years left the company with R5,000 payouts after signing "mutual separation agreements".

Andile Nyembezi of the Casual Workers Advice Office said: "It has become clear to us over the past few weeks that employers are seizing upon the current xenophobic mobilisations to carry out unfair dismissals and unlawful pseudo-retrenchments."

The Malawians were let go following an internal verification process that found that a number of their work permits and supporting documents were fraudulent or invalid before the June 30 deadline set by anti-illegal immigration group March and March.

However, the company maintains its decision was unrelated to the campaign and formed part of an internal compliance process that began months earlier.

HarvestFresh, a large fresh produce agro-processor in the Midvaal district municipality, said it initiated a verification of foreign employees' documentation in November 2025 as part of its legal obligation to ensure all employees were authorised to work in SA.

The company's human resources manager, Machine Hlongwane, said it appointed independent verification service provider Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE) to verify the authenticity of employees' work permits and passports with the home affairs department.

"MIE subsequently verified the documentation with the department of home affairs and confirmed that a number of the permits and supporting documents were fraudulent and that the affected individuals were not authorised to undertake employment in South Africa," Hlongwane said.

He said employees were consulted individually after the verification results were received.

"During these consultations, the verification findings were explained and discussed. Following this process, the parties mutually agreed to end the employment relationship through mutual separation agreements, which became effective on 18 June."

Hlongwane rejected suggestions that the employees were dismissed.

"We wish to emphasise that this was not a unilateral or punitive action. Every affected employee was given a full opportunity to be heard, to present any additional information, and to negotiate the terms of their departure in a respectful and dignified setting."

Hlongwane admitted that the company had not previously verified their migrant workers' documentation.

Former employees, however, painted a different picture.

Several workers told Sowetan they had lived and worked on the farm for between five and 15 years and claimed they were initially offered mutual separation agreement amounts of R3,000, but this was increased to R5,000 after they objected.

Another worker said employees asked for R20,000 each to cover transport costs for themselves and their belongings to Malawi.

"The boss refused, then made a final offer of R5,000 each. Under duress, workers agreed and signed a mutual separation agreement," the worker said.

Another employee alleged he refused to sign the agreement after returning from leave and was subsequently charged with fraud and misrepresentation.

Workers also claimed that some of them had documents that had expired and could not be renewed because of administrative challenges in Malawi, while others said their permits could not be verified or were later found to be fraudulent.

Sowetan asked the home affairs department whether it had conducted or participated in the verification process referred to by HarvestFresh and requested confirmation of the findings. The department had not responded by the time of publication, despite Sowetan's inquiry being submitted a week earlier.

Prof Simphiwe Madikizela from Unisa's economics department said labour rights apply regardless of a worker's immigration status.

"The constitution and South African labour legislation extend workplace protections to all workers. Employers are still expected to follow fair labour processes, irrespective of an employee's documentation status.

"Rights apply equally to anybody, and if they are unpaid, they can either open a case with the police or the department of labour," he said.

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Category: MEDIA COVERAGE | WORKER RIGHTS