By Fawzia Moodley:
With the growing resistance to labour migration in many parts of the world, it’s harder for workers, including highly skilled professionals
seeking new pastures, to find jobs abroad. For India and African countries, including South Africa, the latest blow is the imposition of a hefty $100,000 fee to apply for an H-1B visa to work in the US, which is valid for three years and renewable for another three years.
Trump imposes hefty visa fee
The H-1B visa allowed employers to recruit non-immigrant foreign workers with specialised skills, and was seen as a way for US companies to remain competitive, grow and create more jobs. But amidst a widespread pushback against immigrant workers and claims that the H-1B programme displaced American workers and suppressed wages, the Trump administration has imposed the hefty monetary requirement for these highly sought-after visas.
Skilled professionals from India accounted for the majority of approved H-1B visas in recent years, and this also enabled many professionals from South Africa and other African countries to work in the US.
The new visa fee unaffordable
The change to the H-1B programme is closing the door on talented professionals from these countries to work in America, because they cannot afford the $100,000 visa application fee. India, in particular, will be hard hit as the country has a vast pool of skilled professionals but not enough jobs and is highly dependent on the labour mobility of its people.
Now that the US is becoming harder for Indian nationals to access for work purposes, New Delhi is casting its eyes elsewhere. The Indian government has enacted the Overseas Mobility Bill, which, according to the New York Times, aims to help Indian citizens connect with the “global workplace”. It pays special attention to ensuring workers’ “safe and orderly return, and reintegration of returnees.”
New agreements open new opportunities elsewhere
It has signed labour mobility agreements or migration and mobility partnerships with at least 21 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Persian Gulf as of August 2024, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, Denmark and the United Kingdom, none of which have a history of hiring Indian workers in large numbers.
While the loss of opportunities for skilled professionals from India in the US resulting from changes to the H-1B visa is a major blow, these mobility agreements open new vistas for Indians seeking to work abroad.
South Africa’s policy prioritises skills development
On the other hand, Pretoria’s broader strategy focuses on reducing the push for skilled South Africans to emigrate due to a lack of opportunity by improving local skills development through initiatives like the Critical Skills List, which guides educational institutions to prioritise training in high-demand areas.
Nevertheless, South Africa’s policy framework provides a basis for managing and supporting the mobility of South African workers, both internally and internationally, with an emphasis on ensuring such movement is orderly, documented, and in the best interest of the individual and the South African economy.
The policy also addresses brain drain
Its National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) includes provisions for managing the outward migration of its people. Though focused on managing the employment of foreign nationals within South Africa to prioritise local job seekers, the NLMP also addresses the “brain drain” and aims to facilitate the documentation and fair movement of South African workers abroad.
The policy also mandates the Department of Employment and Labour to research and assist in placing South African work-seekers overseas through fair recruitment processes.
BRICS nations do a balancing act
In an ever-evolving geopolitical world where economic opportunities keep shrinking or shifting, developing countries have to find creative ways to open the path for their skilled professionals, in particular, to find new labour markets. India, South Africa and other BRICS member countries have grasped this reality and are addressing the challenge by improving internal labour and employment cooperation, aiming to develop a more balanced international economic policy. – @NewsSA_Online
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