Dozens of supporters gathered in the Western Cape on Friday as the Labour and Civic Organisation staged a protest over what it describes as the preferential hiring of foreign nationals ahead of South African citizens.
According to the organisation, fact-finding inspections were recently conducted at business hubs including the V&A Waterfront and Belhar. Representatives allege that numerous establishments in these areas employ a majority of foreign workers, displacing local job seekers.
Protesters arrived holding their CVs, calling on authorities to intervene and demanding that employment opportunities be prioritised for South Africans. “We are carrying CVs so that we can assist government in identifying places that are employing foreigners here in Cape Town,” said a spokesperson for the Labour and Civic Organisation during the demonstration.
The spokesperson challenged the narrative of a national unemployment crisis, stating: “There’s no government that is going to be able to build any new jobs. Jobs are here. We don’t have an unemployment crisis in South Africa. The only crisis that we have is that jobs meant for South Africans are occupied by non-South Africans.”
One protester, speaking in a mix of English and Afrikaans, shared a personal account of workplace displacement: “I am tired and I am sick as a South African man, a citizen of South Africa, born here… How can I lose work? How can I also do [the job] just like she can do? Now who is she to get that work from a foreigner?” The individual added that over the years, they have observed South Africans being “replaced by foreigners, mostly illegal foreigners who are not supposed to be in the country in the first place.”
Addressing the broader social tension, the spokesperson noted that citizens who raise concerns about employment practices are often labelled xenophobic. “Yet our people are only fighting for their basic right and their basic need for basic humanity—to uphold the heritage of the country with their right to dignity, to feed their families, and to work for their families,” the spokesperson said.
The Labour and Civic Organisation has called on government inspectors to collaborate with citizens in monitoring hiring practices and ensuring compliance with labour regulations that prioritise local employment.
The protest underscores ongoing debates around migration, labour rights, and economic inclusion in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
