Trucking Industry Faces Shutdown Threat After Anti-Foreign Worker Protest
- The All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa led over 200 marchers through Mooi River on 5 August 2026 demanding local employment
- National secretary Gugu Sokhela warned that industrial action is on the table after years of failed government engagement
- Anti-illegal immigration activist Phakelumthakathi told the crowd the group would return to 'take what is ours'
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Source: Getty Images
KWAZULU-NATAL - More than 200 people took to the streets of Mooi River on 5 August 2026 in a show of force organised by the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa (ATDF-ASA), with the group threatening to bring the country's freight industry to a standstill unless employers stop hiring foreign nationals over South African citizens.
Led by anti-illegal immigration activist Phakelumthakathi, demonstrators moved through the town demanding that local shops, hotels, garages and other businesses give preference to South African workers. The group's central grievance is that qualified local truck drivers remain unemployed while foreign nationals, including those in the country illegally, continue to be hired.
Organisation warns of industrial action
ATDF-ASA national secretary Gugu Sokhela confirmed that the organisation is preparing to engage trade unions to map out next steps, and did not rule out a full industrial action.
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"We want everyone in the industry on board so that we can decide together what needs to be done to achieve our goals for South African truck drivers," Sokhela said.
He also claimed that a significant number of undocumented workers were arrested at a roadblock operation conducted by the Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Inspectorate in Mooi River, pointing to what he described as a systemic problem in the sector.
Sokhela further alleged that ministers of transport, employment and labour, police, and home affairs had collectively agreed on an 11-point plan to address the issue, but that nothing concrete had been implemented. The organisation says years of engagements with government have produced no meaningful results, and that an intensification of its campaign is now inevitable.
Phakelumthakathi adresses the crowd
Speaking directly to the crowd during the march, Phakelumthakathi delivered a pointed warning to businesses in the area.
"Soon we will come back here and take what is ours," he told supporters.
Sokhela echoed that sentiment, stressing that South Africans holding the necessary licences and qualifications are being bypassed in their own country.
"We want to see South Africans taking up space in the trucking industry," he said.
Government tightens law on hiring undicumented worker
Briefly News reported that the government tabled a new law in Parliament that could change how companies hire foreign workers in South Africa and tighten enforcement against illegal employment practices. The Employment Services Amendment Bill aims to update the 2014 law and broaden its scope to include foreign nationals, workers, and some non-profit employment agencies. According to a June 10 report by the South African Government News Agency, it also brings South Africa’s labour migration rules in line with immigration and refugee laws.
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Source: Briefly News
