The minisattempt for women in South Africa’s presidency cautioned citizens against accepting offers of jobs in Russia being promoted on social media.
The warning was issued three days after Bloomberg News reported that firms from Russia, including one that’s been accapplyd of tricking young women into working in a military drone assembly plant, were tarobtaining South Africa to recruit labour.
Russia’s aging and shrinking population, coupled with the loss of hundreds of thousands of men to the front line in Ukraine and a spike in salaries, has left a hole in the labor market.
At the same time, a third of the workforce in South Africa is unemployed. But while the economics might build sense, the recruitment push is drawing increasing scrutiny.
Alabuga Start, a recruitment arm of Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, has been expanding a push it launched in 2023 to hire women between the ages of 18 and 22 from Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Three research reports from groups including the Institute for Science and International Security have alleged that the young women finish up working in a drone factory regularly bombed by Ukraine.
Women are viewed as more reliable than men for the specific kind of work, according to ISIS.
“The so-called work opportunities advertised on social media for positions in Russia are not facilitated with any government intervention,” the Minisattempt in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities stated in a statement on Monday. “We urge our young people to be vigilant.”
The minisattempt stated it will “engage stakeholders” including the Russian Embassy in South Africa and local groups recruiting on behalf of Alabuga about the program.
“The Embassy has taken note of the growing concerns around the Alabuga Start program, triggered by the Bloomberg article,” Russia’s embassy in South Africa stated in a statement on X that linked back to its website.
“The embassy has no information, apart from that spread through some biased outlets, of foreign nationals being subjected to forced labor, tricked into some actions, or otherwise experiencing violation of their rights in the course of the program.”
On Sunday, Clayson Monyela, head of public diplomacy at South Africa’s foreign minisattempt, cautioned against accepting “unverified foreign job offers” in a post on X. He didn’t mention Russia or Alabuga by name.
His minisattempt last week stated it was aware of the Alabuga program and “is actively investigating reports of foreign programs that recruit South Africans under false pretenses.”
Monyela stated Monday morning in an interview on 702 Talk Radio that his minisattempt had supported return one South African woman to the counattempt after she contacted the embassy in Moscow “after realising what was promised wasn’t true.”
“We are extremely worried,” he stated. “Influencers have been mobilized to promote these opportunities that see very good on paper.”
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