Recruitment Centre
25 August 2006
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana has today, Friday, welcomed the opening
of the Beit Bridge Reception and Support Centre meant to curb the employment of
illegal Zimbabwean immigrants by South African employers.
The centre is also intended to halt the abuse of vulnerable workers, mainly
farm employees by what the Minister termed âunscrupulous employersâ.
The development fulfils Minister Mdladlanaâs campaign to defend the most
unprotected workers.
The Minister said employers who needed additional labour from Zimbabwe
should do it the legal way.
âThe Beit Bridge Reception and Recruitment Centre is there to source labour
legally and employers must use it effectively,â he said.
He congratulated the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for the
centre, saying the initiative gives meaning to the Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) signed between the two countries back in 2002.
âMy Department will do everything to make good intention of the Beit Bridge
centre a reality,â he added.
In January this year Minister Mdladlana and his Zimbabwean counterpart,
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche conducted a
site inspection of the site where the centre was to be built.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
25 August 2006
