South Africa’s e-commerce delivery sector has been repeatedly criticized for employing an exorbitant number of foreign nationals, many of whom may be in the country illegally.
The growing backlash to this trend could lead the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Employment and Labour to investigate the practices of on-demand delivery and e-hailing services, which could in turn lead to a crackdown on illegal workers.
Crackdown on foreign workers
A government probe could present a significant challenge for food and grocery apps like Checkers Sixty60, Woolies Dash, Spar’s Spar2U, Pick ‘n Pay ASAP!, Mr Delivery, and Uber Eats, as well as ride-hailing options like Uber and Bolt.
While all of these companies require that individuals provide an identity document as part of the sign-up process, South Africa has a massive issue with fraud, and it is possible that many of the work permits currently held by delivery riders may be forged.
While the exact list of documents that will be accepted varies between companies, most will typically ask for one of the following:
- Refugee ID
- South African Passport
- Asylum seeker/Refugee Permit
- South African Identity book or card
- Non-South African Passport + Permit
Businesses such as Spar have also stated that they have implemented additional checks to ensure that their foreign national drivers adhere to Regulation 110 (1) of the National Road Traffic Regulations, which sets the conditions that international driving permits may be used for in South Africa.
However, while most riders are able to produce some form of identity document, whether they are legitimate is another story entirely.
Home Affairs and the Department of Employment and Labour, in partnership with law enforcement, have already conducted probes into the restaurant industry in South Africa to identify and remove illegally employed non-citizens, according to MyBroadband.
According to Minister of Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhozana Meth, several restaurants and businesses that have been raided were found to be in possession of forged permits.
The expectation now is that the departments will soon turn their attention to the e-commerce and e-hailing sectors with more raids intended to catch illegal drivers.
Safety concerns
While the crackdown on foreign drivers is primarily motivated by job concerns in a country with sky-high unemployment rates, delivery bike operators have also been flagged as a potential safety hazard out on the roads.
The reason for this is that many riders may not actually be in possession of a licence that proves they are qualified to use a motorbike.
According to Hein Jonker, the founder of the Motorcycle Safety Institute of South Africa, many other African countries have a different system where a licence will permit an individual to drive any class of vehicle smaller than the one it was issued for.
In other words, a person who receives a driver’s licence for a motor vehicle will also be allowed to use a motorcycle or scooter, despite the latter requiring a very different skillset.
When these individuals come to South Africa, it’s likely that they will be using one of these licences, meaning they are actually not qualified to drive a bike on our roads.
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