South Africa Xenophobia sparks fresh concern as the NLC urges unions to protect migrant workers and condemn attacks
The Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the Congress of South African Trade Unions to launch a mass educational and sensitisation campaign against xenophobia following renewed attacks on African migrants in South Africa.
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In a letter dated May 7, 2026, and addressed to COSATU President in Johannesburg, NLC President Joe Ajaero warned that African workers were increasingly becoming victims of violence, discrimination and economic frustration.
Joe Ajaero argued that labour unions could not claim to defend workers’ rights while allowing migrant workers to be targeted and killed.
“We cannot claim to fight for the working class while allowing a section of that class to be hunted like wild animals,” he said.
The labour leader urged COSATU to mobilise communities, workplaces and trade unions across South Africa to challenge anti-migrant sentiments and dismantle what he described as harmful narratives blaming foreign workers for economic hardship.
“We must teach that the migrant worker is not a cause of poverty but a victim of the same system,” Joe Ajaero added.
The NLC condemned recent killings and attacks on businesses owned by African migrants, describing the violence as a dangerous consequence of economic hardship, unemployment and failed government policies.
According to Joe Ajaero, political and economic elites were redirecting public anger toward vulnerable migrant workers instead of addressing structural economic problems.
“Our common enemy is not the migrant worker hawking goods in Soweto or mining in Rustenburg. Our common enemy is neoliberalism, capitalism’s most vicious mask,” he said.
The Congress also accused South African security agencies of failing to adequately protect migrants and their properties during attacks.
Joe Ajaero called for the immediate deployment of state resources to safeguard migrant communities and prosecute perpetrators of xenophobic violence.
“The passivity of the security forces in the face of these attacks amounts to complicity,” he stated.
The NLC further warned that South Africa Xenophobia posed a serious threat to working-class unity across Africa and could weaken labour’s collective bargaining strength against economic exploitation.
According to the union, xenophobia risks creating deeper divisions among African workers at a time when continental solidarity is urgently needed.
The Congress proposed an emergency meeting involving African trade union centres under the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation and the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity to develop coordinated protection mechanisms for migrant workers across the continent.
Joe Ajaero cautioned that xenophobia could spread beyond South Africa if decisive action was not taken.
“Xenophobia is a cancer that, if not excised in South Africa, will metastasise across the continent,” he warned.
The latest intervention from the NLC comes amid growing concern in Nigeria over attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa.
Earlier, former Edo State governor and senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, called for the revocation of licences belonging to South African companies operating in Nigeria, including MTN and DSTV, following renewed xenophobic attacks.
Also read: Nigeria apologises after “Igbo King” claims ignite tensions in South Africa
The senator made the call after reports that two Nigerians, Amaramiro Emmanuel and Ekpenyong Andrew, were killed in separate incidents in South Africa.
