A construction site in Circular Drive became the target of a major crackdown on Thursday when government and police officials arrested 19 alleged undocumented foreign nationals.
The early-morning raid at the Village Shopping Centre development, scheduled for completion in December, uncovered allegations of workers not receiving payslips, overtime or public holiday pay, as well as failures to register employees for UIF and the Compensation Fund.
The operation was led by the departments of home affairs and employment and labour, with support from police, municipal officials, the Border Management Authority and the SA National Defence Force.
Officials also found that a subcontractor was allegedly operating without the required registration.
The arrests have highlighted concerns about undocumented labour and compliance at construction sites.
Home affairs deputy minister Njabulo Nzuza warned employers that the government would target those employing undocumented foreign nationals.
Most of those arrested on Thursday were from Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Authorities detained the alleged undocumented foreign nationals while they were working at the site at about 8am.
Nzuza, employment and labour deputy minister Jomo Sibiya and Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe later outlined the findings of the inspection.
It was found that a subcontractor was allegedly not registered and was therefore operating illegally.
Some subcontractors were also allegedly not issuing payslips to workers or paying UIF, while the main contractor, Alpha Omega, was found to be compliant.
An employment and labour official also said department officials had interviewed workers and their union representatives.
The official said Alpha Omega was compliant and was paying the newly legislated national minimum wage.
However, he said one subcontractor was allegedly not providing workers with payslips, was not paying overtime, and did not pay double rates for public holidays.
Another subcontractor allegedly failed to pay the minimum wage.
A second official said a subcontractor was allegedly not paying UIF and had not registered workers as employees.
She said some workers were also unaware of who their employers were.
A home affairs official said 19 undocumented foreign nationals had been arrested and that officials were in the process of identifying their employers.
He said Alpha Omega would have to take responsibility for the alleged noncompliance of subcontractors.
Nzuza said the inter-ministerial committee had conducted inspections at sites, with two sites identified in Gqeberha, to ensure that legislation was being enforced.
Nzuza said officials had identified a problem involving people entering the country as visitors, apparently on 90-day stays, and remaining longer than permitted before taking up employment without the necessary permits.
“We must make it very clear to employers that if you employ illegal foreign nationals, we will come for you. We will arrest you.
“What we are doing is that we are cutting the demand for illegal migrant labour,” Nzuza said.
He said officials planned to visit other spots in the Bay.
“We still have other places to visit and when we get there we are going to make sure that we effect the law and arrest people where necessary.”
Nzuza said the presence of illegal foreign nationals in the country remained widespread.
“By making sure we do these inspections, we’re cutting the appetite.”
Nzuza said the arrested foreign nationals would be processed and potentially deported depending on their individual cases.
Sibiya said officials had found an alleged high level of noncompliance on the site, particularly concerning the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
“Further to that, when it comes to UIF, we found that almost all the workers are not registered for UIF,” Sibiya said.
He said some workers were also allegedly not registered with the Compensation Fund.
“We found that there is high level of noncompliance.
“In a construction site anything can happen. It’s very dangerous.
“They can get injured and lose their limbs.”
Sibiya said unemployment in SA was high.
“We want to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants who are being employed by employers who don’t want to pay the necessary minimum wage and register people with UIF.
“It’s purely for cheap labour purposes,” he said.
Lobishe said the presence of the deputy ministers had added significant weight to the inspection.
“This has been a successful operation which has led us to improve and also learn how to deal in future with other construction sites in the city.
“We’re happy with the number of arrests made, which emphasises that compliance is what’s needed.
“We, as government, are not backing off,” Lobishe said.
Alpha Omega contracts manager JP Janse van Rensburg said the inspection had come as a surprise.
“It came as a big surprise, however we do our best to ensure that we do our part in making sure our site is clean [abiding by the law],” Janse van Rensburg said.
He said the company complied with applicable legislation and took fair labour practices, health and safety requirements seriously.
“We have noted the allegations raised and are currently verifying the specific circumstances with the relevant parties on site.
“We are aware of an immigration compliance operation having taken place.
“The employment status and documentation of individuals working for subcontractors are matters that are required to be managed and verified by the respective employers.
“We are engaging with the relevant subcontractors to establish the precise circumstances and ensure that all applicable requirements are being complied with,” Janse van Rensburg said.
He said the detention or arrest of individuals did not, in itself, establish any wrongdoing by the developer or his company.
Regarding further allegations concerning payslips and the non-payment of workers, Janse van Rensburg said subcontractors were required to comply with all applicable labour legislation and their contractual obligations towards their workers.
“We are investigating the specific allegations regarding payslips and payment arrangements and will address any confirmed noncompliance with the relevant subcontractor.”
He said the company would also investigate allegations that a subcontractor was not registered.
“We are verifying this allegation with the relevant parties.
“All subcontractors appointed to the project are required to meet the applicable legal, statutory, and contractual requirements.
“We would therefore rather not speculate until the relevant registration and compliance records have been checked.”
He said the project was a private development and that the applicable signage and statutory requirements were compliant.
The developer was not accused of any wrongdoing.
“We are nevertheless reviewing the requirements applicable to the project to ensure everything is in place.”
Janse van Rensburg said The Village Shopping Centre development was valued at about R16m.
Construction began in October 2025 and was scheduled for completion by December.
There were 17 subcontractors on site, with the number of workers averaging 200 per day.
“We remain committed to conducting the project in accordance with the applicable statutory, labour, health and safety and construction requirements,” Janse van Rensburg said.
Speaking at a council meeting later in the day, Lobishe said: “We will sustain [such] operations at municipal level with our district and municipal multi-disciplinary teams.
“We will continue to conduct frequent blitzes to screen workers for proper documentation under the Immigration Act and inspect shops for adherence to health standards and basic conditions of employment, among other requirements.”
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