Non-compliant Seabury staff committing criminal act – law firm

A Cape Town law firm specialising in immigration services says it is a criminal offence to employ anyone who does not have a work visa.

Prosecution and conviction for this criminal act could result in a fine or a prison term of five years.

Attorney Nadine Kruger of Craig and Smith Attorneys said Section 38 of the Immigration Act prohibits the employment of a person who does not have a valid work visa.

“If they have any kind of visa that does not specifically provide for their employment with a certain employer they are illegally employed and the employer can be held liable. It is a criminal offence to employ anyone that does not have a work visa,” said Kruger.

The fine depends on the amount a company is earning for its services, therefore it could be thousands of rand if Seabury, now part of Accenture, were to be found guilty of criminal acts in this regard.

SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said they are not aware that any member of the Seabury team had been deported by the department of home affairs in 2008 or recently for non-compliance.

Tlali said: “When we became aware that a number of Seabury consultants seconded to SAA were not in full compliance with South African immigration laws in that some were not in possession of required short-work authorisation permits, SAA demanded Seabury comply with immediate effect.

“The airline, however, continued with the services offered by the consultants, albeit with a smaller team whilst the outstanding compliance issues received attention. Those issues were subsequently resolved.”

Accenture’s executive support analyst in New York, Kisha Henry, informed The Citizen several times that she had referred the enquiry to Accenture corporate spokesperson Stacey Jones.

Several enquiries were also sent directly to Jones, but instead a South African-based Accenture employee, Jonathan Mahapa, contacted The Citizen, claiming Seabury had sent a response to SAA. He said SAA would respond on their behalf, but refused to be quoted.

But Tlali said: “I don’t speak on behalf of Seabury ... We do not speak on behalf of any service providers.”

Tlali said Seabury was contracted for an all-inclusive total amount of $4.5 million (R59.1 million) for a contract from January to June.

“The appointment of Seabury consultants followed a multiple source bidding process, which is provided for in our Global Supply Management Policy (GSM Policy).

“Out of six potential bidders to whom the tender was issued, and a thorough evaluation process undertaken, Seabury Corporate Advisors emerged as a preferred bidder and was appointed in line with the delegated approval authority,” said Tlali.

Kruger was shocked that SAA is paying Seabury R59 million, yet their employees did not have proper work permits.

Home affairs spokesperson Thabo Mokgola said he would ask former home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba whether he received a memo from Satawu and would comment thereafter.

The Citizen forwarded the SA Transport Workers Union memo to Mokgola, but no response had been received from him at the time of going to print. In terms of the Seabury’s team failure to comply, Mokgola said he could not comment unless The Citizen submitted their passport numbers to the department.