Dudula foreigners out of factory jobs

OPERATION Dudula operatives in Cape Town believe they are one step closer to having foreign nationals who work at some factories vacate the jobs.

The anti-immigrant group, which stormed six factories in July demanding that factory owners fire immigrants, are gearing to enter into talks with the Department of Home Affairs and immigration towards verifying the legality of those working in the factories.

An Operation Dudula representative, who asked not to be named, said talks with factory owners were on the go.

Memorandums of demand have been handed over to two factories in Cape Town.

The woman said while it seemed Operation Dudula in Cape Town was at a standstill the group continued to work towards getting “their jobs back”.

“The next step is to speak to the Department of Home Affairs and immigration because we want them to embark on a verification process.

“We believe everything is going well and we are making headway because these foreigners took our jobs and we want them back,” she said.

She said the group has been disgruntled for a while before finally going ahead with trying to have foreign nationals removed from jobs they believe were meant for locals.

Operation Dudula, which can be loosely translated as “push back”, blames the spike in crime and social ills on immigrants.

The group believe foreign nationals occupy jobs meant for themselves.

The movement started in Joburg but has since spread to other parts of the country including the Western Cape.

Members of Operation Dudula in Cape Town told six factories in Witsand, outside Atlantis, they had seven days to remove illegal immigrants allegedly working in their businesses. The operations took place in July.

They threatened to rope in the relevant law enforcement agencies or the Department Home Affairs to enforce the county’s immigration policy.

Gas cylinder test station, PC Revalidation managing director Dale Lewis said the test station based in Atlantis was desperate to get on with its work.

“We may not have any (more) letters of demand.

“They have not been back at all. “In our view these people are a very small minority and their ideology is racist and xenophobic,” Lewis said.

This week a group of people in Plettenberg Bay gave foreign nationals in KwaNokuthula township until Thursday to leave the township.

The march, which turned violent, left a man dead.

| OUPA MOKOENA THE anti-immigrant group Operation Dudula launched a Western Cape branch in May. Now they are vowing to rid factories of foreign workers. African News Agency (ANA)