On 4 September 2025, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour (EL Committee) held a workshop to discuss the ESAB and the NLMP in the context of South Africa’s socio-economic framework, as well as the way forward on their potential implementation.

What are the ESAB and NLMP?

The NLMP is South Africa’s first comprehensive framework for managing the movement of workers into and out of South Africa. Rooted in human rights principles and national development priorities, it aims to make labour migration fair, orderly and predictable, while safeguarding the rights of every worker – South African and foreigner alike. The ESAB gives effect to the NLMP by providing mechanisms to implement the NLMP and by amending the Employment Services Act 4 of 2014. Our previous alert on the ESAB and NLMP can be found here and our guideline on the topic can be found here.

What key issues were discussed during the EL Committee meeting in relation to migration and immigration laws?

The Deputy Director for the Public Services Employment Branch, Mr Sam Morotoba, mentioned that the Minister of Employment and Labour (Minister) will determine specific sectors for “migrant worker inclusion”. What this can be understood to mean is that a determination will be made by the Minister regarding the economic sectors in which quotas for the employment of foreigners will be imposed. Sectors like construction, hospitality and domestic work were identified as having “permanent migrant worker occupations” and evidence is being gathered to set quotas for these sectors, similar to what has been put in place by the Employment Equity Regulations, 2025.

It was further mentioned that several court cases have analysed the interplay between the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, the Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 and the Refugees Act 130 of 1998, which has culminated in a need to review these laws. It was further stated that a white paper is being developed to address the gaps in the legislation and that the aim is for proper legislation to be in place to deal with the complexity at hand.

In addition, technological solutions are being considered to assist with managing migration and identifying individuals who overstay their visas/permits.

Finally, it was reiterated that there will be more enforcement of immigration legislation through workplace inspections (including arrests) in order to improve enhanced departmental co-ordination, delegation and further empowerment in enforcement. Therefore, it has never been more crucial for employers to ensure that they are cognisant of the foreign nationals that they employ, and that such foreign nationals are in possession of valid passports and work permits/visas.

What are the next steps?

During the workshop, the Department of Employment and Labour and the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser advised that the ESAB ought to be dealt with in accordance with the legislative procedures outlined in section 75 of the Constitution.

Therefore, the next stage in the process would be the public participation stage, where the public will be invited to comment on the ESAB.

We will continue to monitor developments on the progress of the ESAB as and when they arise.