As the sun set over South Africa’s fertile fruit-growing region, Zimbabwean farmworker Aaron Majatamhe headed home after another day’s work, passing rows of citrus trees heavy with unpicked fruit.
“I see a lot of farm owners who are crying now… people have to harvest those naartjies, but there is no one,” the 33-year-old told AFP.
The labour shortage, he said, is also threatening the country’s vineyards.
“It’s time to cut off the grapes and there is no one.”
Similar scenes are unfolding across South Africa as farms, factories and even households struggle to replace thousands of foreign workers who have left the country in recent weeks following deadly anti-migrant protests and intensified immigration enforcement.
Anti-immigration groups had set June 30 as an unofficial deadline for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa, triggering the departure of more than 160,000 people, according to an AFP tally based on figures released by African governments repatriating their citizens.
Zimbabwe accounted for the largest share of those returning, with many previously employed in agriculture, construction and domestic work.
The impact was felt almost immediately in KwaZulu-Natal’s sugar-producing region.
One farmer on the province’s north coast said he lost nearly 80 percent of his cane-cutting workforce almost overnight.
“Production and supply have deteriorated to the point where it is going to be difficult for the mills to stay open,” he said, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.
‘Back-breaking’ work
Another farmer near Mid-Illovo, south of Durban, said most cane cutters in the area came from neighbouring Lesotho.
“There are fields we are supposed to be cutting, but there are just not enough people. Local people don’t like this job because it is back-breaking and physical,” he said.
Labour unions strongly dispute that claim.
With South Africa’s unemployment rate above 33 percent—and significantly higher when discouraged job seekers are included—they argue that many South Africans are willing to work but are overlooked because employers prefer migrant labour.
According to union representatives and labour researchers, foreign workers are often hired because they are cheaper, more flexible and less likely to insist on formal contracts, employment benefits or legal protections.
“They are making a profit out of foreign nations,” said Patrick Williams of the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union.
He alleged that many foreign farmworkers routinely worked seven days a week, skipped lunch breaks to maximise piece-rate earnings and were frequently paid below the national minimum wage.
‘Locals first’
For employers, however, replacing experienced migrant workers is proving difficult.
At a clothing factory in Durban’s Chatsworth industrial area, a manager said the departure of skilled machinists from Malawi and Mozambique had left manufacturers struggling to fulfil orders.
“We can barely meet our targets because most were forced to go,” she said on condition of anonymity, adding that training replacement workers would take time.
The South African government has sought to balance growing public concern over immigration with the labour needs of key industries by promoting a “locals first” employment policy while acknowledging that some sectors remain heavily dependent on foreign workers.
Last week, authorities expanded the Trusted Employer Scheme, which fast-tracks work visas for companies that predominantly employ South Africans, invest in skills development and operate in priority industries.
Business groups are nevertheless urging the government to establish legal pathways for seasonal migrant workers, arguing that agriculture cannot replace experienced foreign labour overnight.
Siyabonga Madlala, chief executive of the South African Farmers Development Association, said the country should consider introducing a regulated seasonal worker programme similar to that used in the United States.
“There may be a need for a special dispensation allowing seasonal labour from SADC countries where local supply is insufficient,” he told Newsroom Afrika, referring to the 16-member Southern African Development Community.
More than 60 percent of South Africa’s immigrant population is estimated to come from SADC member states.
Fear drives exodus
For many migrants, however, labour policy has become secondary to personal safety.
Police figures show that at least four foreign nationals have been killed during the recent unrest.
Wayne Chimbadzwa Mutasa, a Zimbabwean who had lived in Robertson since 2014, said he decided to leave after foreign workers became targets of door-to-door raids.
“The people who came into the houses of Zimbabweans were police officers saying that you are living here illegally,” he told AFP while preparing to return home.
Majatamhe has chosen to remain in South Africa—for now.
“We are afraid to stay even in this place, but the problem is, we don’t have enough money to go home,” he said.
AFP
