Thami Magubane|Published39 minutes agoDurban’s clothing industry warns of collapse amid threat of immigration crackdown

Businesses in Durban’s clothing and textile sector are sounding the alarm over the potential collapse of their industry due to demands for illegal foreign nationals to leave the country. They argue that 80% of machinists are foreign nationals, some of whom could be illegally in the country. Durban businesses in the clothing and textile sector are pushing back against the demand for illegal foreign nationals to leave the country, warning that this will have a destructive impact on their operations.

The minibus taxi industry in KwaZulu-Natal is also bearing the brunt of reduced passenger numbers since the beginning of calls for illegal foreigners to return to their countries. The eThekwini Clothing and Leather Council has admitted to employing foreign nationals and conceded that some could be illegally in the country. However, it stated that it is the government that has failed to address the issue of illegal immigration.

Additionally, while it employs immigrants, they argue that locals are not interested in jobs such as machinists. Furthermore, even when they advertise these jobs, there is very little interest. Thanasagren Rubbanathan Moodley, spokesperson for the eThekwini Clothing and Leather Council, warned that the sector had reached out to the provincial government to find a solution to their situation.

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He stated that to date, there had been no response from the Office of the Premier. He warned that their members would institute a five-day shutdown in protest. “Our council represents approximately 100 business owners within the Cut, Make and Trim (CMT) clothing, leather, and footwear manufacturing industry, employing over 10,000 semi-skilled and unskilled individuals.

Over 80% of our essential machinists are foreign nationals, some of whom may be undocumented. This relies on a 20-year operational shift where local labour consistently rejected machinist roles – a transition historically acknowledged by government regulatory bodies, unions, and the CCMA. “Local recruitment drives continue to yield critically low response rates.

A blanket removal of these workers without a transitional framework will cause an immediate collapse of the industry, devastating the local economy and resulting in mass unemployment,” Moodley said. Moodley mentioned that on April 29, they wrote to KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli requesting an urgent audience, even offering a managed five-day pause to facilitate talks. One month later, they have received no response.

“As a direct result of this deadlock, our members have unanimously voted to implement a five-day industry shutdown to secure government engagement. We are deeply aware that this shutdown will hurt workers the most; however, continued silence from the government leaves our members with no viable alternative,” said Moodley. In a letter to the office of the premier, the organisation stated that over the past 30-50 years, all arms of the government and law enforcement knew of the influx of foreigners into the country but did nothing.

The labour department was also well aware of the situation. “Now, to suddenly apply the law when it suits an agenda is grossly unfair on the employers. This industry serves to employ a large number of semi-skilled and unskilled labour, putting food on the table,” it said.

Moodley said the narrative that their members employ foreigners because they are a cheap source of labour needs to be debunked. The reality, he said, is that locals either don’t want to do this menial, demanding job of a machinist or don’t have the skill set. “Our members are tired of living under the threat of arrest on a daily basis and are planning a five-day complete shutdown of the industry to bring urgent attention to this matter. This drastic action, which will affect the workers, can be avoided if the government is willing to engage with us,” it said.

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