At least 41 undocumented foreign nationals working for a construction company were arrested during a government compliance operation at a Johannesburg construction site yesterday, as authorities intensified inspections targeting labour and immigration violations.
The blitz, led by the Department of Employment and Labour, took place at a Century Property Developments construction site in Riversand, north of Johannesburg. The operation involved labour inspectors, law enforcement officers and immigration authorities who arrived at the site in the morning to assess whether employers and workers were complying with South African labour and immigration laws.
Their arrival sparked panic among some workers. As officials entered the site, several people scattered in different directions, with some jumping over walls in an attempt to evade arrest. Officers gave chase and managed to apprehend 41 people suspected of being in the country illegally.
Deputy Employment and Labour Minister Jomo Sibiya, who spoke after the operation, said the arrests were made while officials were assessing compliance at the site. He said the department was concerned by what the operation appeared to reveal about the use of undocumented foreign labour in key sectors of the economy.
Sibiya said the blitz pointed to the scale of the challenge facing authorities and the extent to which some employers were abusing the country’s labour and immigration laws. According to him, officials believed there could be more than 300 undocumented foreign nationals working at the Riversand construction site.
The figure has raised serious concerns for the department, which is currently conducting national inspections across sectors where noncompliance is believed to be widespread. Sibiya said the department would not treat the matter as a once-off operation, adding that authorities planned to return to the site with a stronger team.
He said the operation would be replanned and reinforced, with more law enforcement officers, labour inspectors and immigration officials deployed when authorities go back to ensure the site is thoroughly inspected.
The Riversand operation forms part of a broader government effort to clamp down on employers accused of violating employment, immigration and workplace safety laws. The Department of Employment and Labour has been focusing on four sectors in particular: construction, agriculture, hospitality, and wholesale and retail.
According to Sibiya, inspectors have discovered a significant number of undocumented foreign nationals being employed across all four sectors. He said the problem was not isolated to one industry or area, but reflected a wider pattern of noncompliance by businesses operating in different parts of the country.
“The four sectors that we are focusing on, all of them, there are a number of people who are operating that are not supposed to be operating in that space. We need to clean it,” Sibiya said.
The deputy minister said construction and agriculture were among the sectors showing particularly high levels of noncompliance. He said authorities were concerned that vulnerable workers were being exploited while employers ignored labour requirements designed to protect employees and regulate workplaces.
He added that the government would continue pushing for stronger enforcement to ensure that all workers and employers, regardless of industry, complied with the law.
“We need to make sure that all our SA laws, no matter which one – by-laws, labour laws, immigration laws – are enforced and respected by everyone.”
The department’s concerns follow a similar operation carried out in the Johannesburg CBD last week. During that inspection, officials found cats roaming around inside a butchery while workers were sleeping on the same property. The discovery raised questions not only about labour and immigration compliance, but also about health, safety and living conditions linked to some workplaces.
That CBD operation has added urgency to the department’s current inspection drive. Officials appear to be looking beyond whether foreign nationals have valid documents, also examining whether employers are complying with workplace standards, health regulations, employment conditions and other laws governing business operations.
The Riversand construction site operation, however, placed the spotlight firmly on the construction industry, where large numbers of workers are often employed on short-term projects. Authorities believe such environments can create opportunities for employers to bypass labour protections, especially when workers are undocumented or desperate for income.
Sibiya said the department had picked up what he described as a massive number of undocumented foreign nationals being employed across the targeted sectors. His comments suggest that government inspectors are now working to establish how widespread the issue is and whether employers are deliberately hiring undocumented workers to avoid legal obligations.
For the 41 people arrested in Riversand, the matter is now expected to move through immigration and law enforcement processes. The department did not provide further details about their nationalities, how long they had been working at the site, or whether any action had yet been taken against the employer.
The possible presence of more than 300 undocumented foreign nationals at the same site means authorities are likely to return with a larger enforcement team. Sibiya said the next phase of the operation would be strengthened so that officials could carry out a more complete inspection of the premises and those working there.
The department’s approach appears to signal a more aggressive stance towards sectors suspected of repeated noncompliance. By targeting construction, agriculture, hospitality, and wholesale and retail, officials are focusing on industries that employ large numbers of people and often rely on labour-intensive operations.
The inspections also come amid ongoing public debate in South Africa about unemployment, migration, exploitation and the responsibilities of employers. Government officials have repeatedly emphasised that immigration enforcement must go hand in hand with action against businesses that break labour laws or take advantage of vulnerable workers.
At the Riversand site, the morning operation resulted in immediate arrests, but the department has made it clear that the matter is not over. The site is expected to face further scrutiny when authorities return with a larger team.
For now, the government blitz remains ongoing, with more inspections expected as the Department of Employment and Labour continues its national compliance drive across the four targeted sectors.
