Weeks after xenophobic protests drove thousands of migrant workers out of South Africa, rows of sewing machines stood idle at a clothing factory in Newcastle, a manufacturing hub in KwaZulu Natal, exposing the practical cost of a campaign that promised to free up jobs for South Africans.
The campaign, led by anti immigrant group March and March, sought to open positions for South Africans, a third of whom are unemployed but local manufacturers say they have struggled to fill the vacancies left behind. Reuters visited three factories in late July whose owners said they had lost between 12 and 195 of their workforce during the protests. Some departing workers held sewing skills in short supply locally, owners said, while few South Africans have shown willingness to take the low paying jobs on offer. “People don’t want to work in factories,” said Mpho Nkosi, a 29 year old South African administrator at one of the firms.
Migrants typically work in sectors that hold little appeal for local workers, analysts note and it remains unclear how widespread the resulting labour shortages may be, though there have also been reports of unfilled positions in sugarcane fields. A spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Labour said he was unaware of worker shortages and advised employers to seek the department’s assistance with recruitment.
The protests followed months of anti immigrant marches and vigilante attacks culminating in a 30 June deadline declared by March and March for undocumented migrants to leave, prompting many to flee. The group blames immigrants for South Africa’s economic troubles, particularly high unemployment, a claim researchers dispute, arguing instead that employers prefer foreign workers because they accept lower wages. Factory owners counter that they mostly employ South Africans, relying on some skilled workers from Eswatini and Lesotho for garment sector experience. “We can’t immediately replace these skills with locals,” said Alex Liu, Newcastle factory owner. Another owner, Ronghua Yan, launched a training course for seven local employees after losing around 40 foreign workers in June, though financial constraints have prevented him from training more.
The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union estimates 15% of Newcastle’s 15,000 strong textile workforce left during the protests. Union representative Siyabonga Ntombela disputed the idea of a skills shortage, arguing positions remain unfilled because pay is too low. “We have plenty of qualified machinists in South Africa,” he said, adding that commuting costs also deter local workers, while migrant workers often lived on site at some factories. Labour market researcher Siphelele Ngidi said attracting South Africans into manufacturing would require a deliberate government push to revitalise the sector. “It’s not just the wage alone, it’s also the working conditions and the possibility of upward mobility,” said Ngidi.
Most of Newcastle’s garment factories are owned by Chinese nationals who have operated in South Africa for decades, producing clothing for domestic retailers in an industry the government has championed to reduce reliance on imports. Workers are typically paid per piece completed, meaning only the most productive earn the national minimum wage of R30.23 an hour, with many earning less. Factory owners say they cannot afford to raise wages because retailers pay little for finished garments, with a pair of jeans starting at R11.50 and a T-shirt fetching less than half that.
The industry suffered a further setback in February when government inspections uncovered illegal labour practices at some factories. Most factories subsequently lost retail orders, Liu said, though not every factory was equally responsible and while that has reduced the urgency of replacing departed workers, the combined pressure could ultimately push some factories over the edge, costing more South African jobs than the protests were meant to create. Liu said his own business is operating at a loss and he plans to reassess by December whether to close it altogether. “At the moment everybody’s waiting and seeing. I think there’s a possibility we will see a lot of closures in the coming months.”
