A demonstration organised by the Labour and Civic Organisation brought together dozens of concerned citizens in the Western Cape this week, focusing attention on allegations that foreign nationals are being favoured in local hiring processes over South African job seekers.
Participants arrived at the protest equipped with résumés, symbolising their readiness to work and their demand for greater access to employment opportunities within their own communities. The group called for increased scrutiny of hiring practices and urged authorities to prioritise citizens when filling available positions.
According to a spokesperson for the Labour and Civic Organisation, recent fact-finding visits to commercial areas—including the V&A Waterfront and Belhar—revealed patterns suggesting that many businesses employ predominantly foreign workers. “We are carrying CVs so that we can assist government in identifying or inspecting places that are employing foreigners here in Cape Town,” the spokesperson stated during the gathering.
The organisation contests the characterization of South Africa’s employment challenges as solely a crisis of job creation. “Jobs are here. We don’t have an unemployment crisis in South Africa,” the spokesperson asserted. “The only crisis that we have is that jobs meant for South Africans are occupied by non-South Africans.”
One demonstrator shared a personal perspective, switching between English and Afrikaans to express frustration over perceived workplace displacement: “I am tired and I am sick as a South African man, a citizen of South Africa, born here… How can I lose work? How can I also do [the job] just like she can do? Now who is she to get that work from a foreigner?” The individual added that they have witnessed South African employees being “replaced by foreigners, mostly illegal foreigners who are not supposed to be in the country in the first place.”
Addressing the social stigma sometimes attached to such concerns, the spokesperson noted that citizens who question current employment trends are frequently labelled xenophobic. “Yet our people are only fighting for their basic right and their basic need for basic humanity—to uphold the heritage of the country with their right to dignity, to feed their families, and to work for their families,” the spokesperson emphasised.
The Labour and Civic Organisation is urging government labour inspectors to partner with community members in monitoring compliance with employment regulations and ensuring that local hiring preferences are upheld where applicable.
The demonstration reflects broader, ongoing discussions across South Africa regarding labour market dynamics, migration policy, and equitable access to economic opportunities in the Western Cape region.