Migrant miners disadvantaged by new SA immigration law

The Mozambican embassy in South Africa confirmed on Wednesday that it was trying to renegotiate a recently passed immigration law with authorities in Pretoria, claiming that the legislation discriminated against migrant mine workers. "We have raised our concerns with the relevant authorities, and they have assured us that they will take some of the issues seriously. Our main objection is that many of the Mozambican migrant workers have worked in South Africa for 20 years. Their contribution to the development of South Africa needs to be recognised," Petro Taimo of the labour department in the Mozambican embassy told IRIN. According to Taimo, the new legislation introduces a 2.5 percent tax on foreign miners' wages to fund training courses for South African workers. "This 2 percent tax means that it is not worthwhile for the migrants to continue working in the country. South Africa might as well send them back home," he commented. The law also reduces contract periods to a six-month maximum and the workers, mainly from Mozambique, Botswana and Swaziland, are expected to leave South Africa within 72 hours of their contracts expiring. Thereafter they may reapply for another contract. Taimo noted a 1964 bilateral agreement between South Africa and Mozambique that was "far more beneficial for migrant workers". Under the 1964 accord, Mozambicans working in South Africa's mines received 40 percent of their salaries in South Africa and the remainder in Mozambique. The agreement also stipulated one-year minimum contracts that were automatically renewable for six months. "We are not saying that South Africa must necessarily revert to the 1964 agreement. But it would be beneficial to all concerned if we continue to discuss how the positive aspects of that earlier agreement can be blended into the new law," Taimo said. According to the Johannesburg office of the Mozambican Labour Department, there are 52,918 Mozambican workers employed in the South African mining industry, 29,020 in the agricultural sector, and 5,007 in the service sector. Jonathan Crush of the Southern African Migration Project said it would be in the best interests of both governments and the mining sector to review the existing law. "South Africa depends heavily on the Mozambican workers, especially in the gold mining industry, and if companies feel it is more expensive to hire foreign workers, this could hurt the mineral sector. Many of the migrant workers are career miners, who have, over the years, developed the necessary skills," he told IRIN. Crush added that there was no reason why the 1964 bilateral agreement between the two countries could not run concurrently with the new immigration law. However, according to research conducted by International Labour Organisation (ILO), although bilateral agreements between the migrant's home country and the South African government in some cases provided social protection to migrant workers,loopholes remained. ILO pointed out that often the employer had broad latitude as to what benefits to provide to the migrant worker. Moreover employers make no provision for retirement pensions for rank and file workers, providing only lump-sum payments from provident funds. Also private benefits are optional on the part of the employer and generally do not extend beyond the worker's period of employment. ILO concluded that as a result, these benefits may become unavailable just when the worker is most in need of protection.