Parliament of South Africa
Parliament of South Africa
07/22/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/22/2026 07:48
Media Statement: Employers’ Claims of Labour Shortages Are Disingenuous, Says Committee Chairperson
Parliament, Wednesday, 22 Julu 2026 - The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Science and the Creative Industries, Mr Makhi Feni, has called on employers in the education sector not to be disingenuous about labour force shortages.
The higher education sector employs a high number of foreign nationals and this may explain why they make this claim, Mr Feni said. "The education spaces better not fall in the trap, as there are enough programmes to train future academics. Opportunities too in the basic education should open up and be fairly remunerated," Mr Feni said.
"The calls by some employers in the low-skilled sectors are so insincere, untrue and unbelievable, given the unemployment statistical information that is publicly available. Employers must not seek to exploit our people, whom we know for sure will do any kind of work as long as they are remunerated fairly.
"We have enough skilled and educated South Africans who are willing to take any kind of jobs. The allegations that there are sectors reporting labour force shortage are insincere and simply untrue. What could possibly be happening is that employers, especially in low-skilled jobs, want to continue exploiting South Africans who, unfortunately for them, are protected by employment legislation."
Several media reports have indicated that labour force shortages have been experienced after some foreign nationals were deported recently, following protests.
Mr Feni said some sectors have been accumulating revenue for a long time by exploiting undocumented foreign nationals. "When the reality is brought to bear about their exploitative tendencies, they are shouting labour force shortages when in truth they refuse to employ South Africans who ordinarily should be in the job market. Instead, they are shouting labour shortages merely to greedily protect their income."
"We wish to reiterate that South Africans are not xenophobic, it is just that they decided to rise against unfairness from scrupulous employers who thrived on exploiting poor foreigners and took advantage of their vulnerable status in the country."
"Employers must do right by and for South Africans," concluded Mr Feni.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, SCIENCE, AND THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, MR MAKHI FENI.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairpersons, please contact the committee's Media Officer:
Name: Sibongile Maputi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8041
Cell: 081 052 6060
E-mail: [email protected]
The higher education sector employs a high number of foreign nationals and this may explain why they make this claim, Mr Feni said. "The education spaces better not fall in the trap, as there are enough programmes to train future academics. Opportunities too in the basic education should open up and be fairly remunerated," Mr Feni said.
"The calls by some employers in the low-skilled sectors are so insincere, untrue and unbelievable, given the unemployment statistical information that is publicly available. Employers must not seek to exploit our people, whom we know for sure will do any kind of work as long as they are remunerated fairly.
"We have enough skilled and educated South Africans who are willing to take any kind of jobs. The allegations that there are sectors reporting labour force shortage are insincere and simply untrue. What could possibly be happening is that employers, especially in low-skilled jobs, want to continue exploiting South Africans who, unfortunately for them, are protected by employment legislation."
Several media reports have indicated that labour force shortages have been experienced after some foreign nationals were deported recently, following protests.
Mr Feni said some sectors have been accumulating revenue for a long time by exploiting undocumented foreign nationals. "When the reality is brought to bear about their exploitative tendencies, they are shouting labour force shortages when in truth they refuse to employ South Africans who ordinarily should be in the job market. Instead, they are shouting labour shortages merely to greedily protect their income."
"We wish to reiterate that South Africans are not xenophobic, it is just that they decided to rise against unfairness from scrupulous employers who thrived on exploiting poor foreigners and took advantage of their vulnerable status in the country."
"Employers must do right by and for South Africans," concluded Mr Feni.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, SCIENCE, AND THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, MR MAKHI FENI.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairpersons, please contact the committee's Media Officer:
Name: Sibongile Maputi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8041
Cell: 081 052 6060
E-mail: [email protected]
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