Immigrant workers across South Africa have faced a wave of dismissals, suspensions and withheld pay since June 2026 as employers buckle under pressure from anti-migrant activists, with the Casual Workers Advice Office confirming it has taken on more than 100 cases in Gauteng alone. The dismissals coincide with a campaign by the March and March movement, whose 30 June deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country has emboldened activists to visit workplaces and demand foreign nationals be removed from jobs.
GroundUp, reporting on 26 June 2026, documented a sharp rise in unlawful treatment of immigrant workers, including exclusion from UIF and unfair dismissals. Gugu Moyo, immigrant liaison officer at the Casual Workers Advice Office, told GroundUp that workers “are being treated as less than human” as employers respond to mounting xenophobic pressure.
At HarvestFresh in Meyerton, Gauteng, about 90 foreign national employees lost their jobs after the company ran document checks through Managed Integrity Evaluation, which it said confirmed several permits were fraudulent. The company’s human resources manager, Machine Hlongwane, told the Sowetan on 13 July 2026 that the process was not punitive: “Every affected employee was given a full opportunity to be heard, to present any additional information, and to negotiate the terms of their departure in a respectful and dignified setting.”
Workers at HarvestFresh told the Sowetan they were initially offered R3,000 and later R5,000 to sign mutual separation agreements, a claim that has not been independently confirmed by a second source. The departures took effect on 18 June 2026, according to the company, which said workers signed mutual separation agreements voluntarily.
Daily Maverick reported on 9 July 2026 that March and March-linked activists, together with allied groups such as Laco, were visiting workplaces in places like City Deep industrial park and demanding employers fire undocumented foreign nationals. Nhlanhleni Zimu, Laco secretary-general, told Daily Maverick: “We don’t just say ‘fire people’. We are speaking about people who are illegal in South Africa and who should not be found in any place of work.
The North Coast Courier reported on 29 July 2026 that March and March delegates visited businesses in Umdloti on 22 July and demanded the retrenchment of all foreign nationals, documented and undocumented. Labour and employment lawyer Ernst Booyse warned that businesses complying with such demands face legal consequences: “If a business gives in to this demand, foreigners can take the matter to a bargaining council for unfair dismissal, and they will win.”
Reuters reported on 6 August 2026 that South African clothing factories lost between 12% and 19% of their workforce in late July after months of anti-immigrant marches and vigilante attacks. The report confirms that the pressure has moved beyond threats into measurable economic disruption, with factories struggling to replace experienced workers who fled.
Conflicting accounts remain over whether all dismissed workers at HarvestFresh were genuinely undocumented, as the company claims, or whether some held valid documentation. The Casual Workers Advice Office says the pattern of employer behaviour reflects a broader exploitation of the migration crisis to circumvent labour law protections. What remains unverified is the total number of workers affected nationally and the extent to which March and March directly caused each individual dismissal. Cape Flats will continue checking with SAPS and the Department of Employment and Labour for any official response to the workplace visits and will update this story by 15 August 2026.