The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa, describing the killings and destruction of businesses belonging to African migrants as “a crisis for the entire African working class.”
In a letter signed by the President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero and addressed to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the NLC said it was watching “with horror” as “the ghosts of nativism and xenophobia once again stalk the streets of South Africa.”
The NLC said African migrants, including Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Malawians and Somalis, were being targeted not for any crime, but for the sin of being African in Africa.
According to the NLC, the attacks were fuelled by unemployment, housing shortages and failed economic policies, but warned that migrant workers were being unfairly turned into scapegoats.
The NLC raised concerns that innocent workers and traders were being persecuted despite contributing meaningfully to the South African economy through years of labour and sacrifice.
The NLC warned that xenophobia was gradually undermining the collective strength of African workers and weakening the labour movement’s ability to fight exploitation and economic injustice.
It stressed that the real problem confronting workers across Africa was not migration but harsh economic conditions driven by capitalism and neoliberal policies.
“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.”
The NLC urged COSATU to take a more forceful stand against xenophobia by mobilising workers across South Africa to reject violence against fellow Africans.
The congress also criticised what it described as the weak response of South African security agencies to the attacks, warning that failure to stop the violence could be interpreted as complicity.
It demanded immediate deployment of state resources to protect migrant workers and their property, while urging authorities to prosecute those responsible for killings and destruction. “The passivity of the security forces in the face of these attacks amounts to complicity.”
In addition, the NLC called for compensation for families of victims and business owners who suffered losses during the attacks. It argued that governments had a responsibility to protect all workers regardless of nationality and warned that continued silence could deepen divisions among Africans.
The congress maintained that xenophobia was dangerous not only for migrants but also for the future of labour movements on the continent.
Reminding COSATU of the historic solidarity shown by Nigerians during South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, the NLC said African workers must not allow colonial borders to divide them.
It recalled how Nigeria supported South Africans during apartheid through financial contributions, advocacy and educational opportunities.
“We cannot abandon that history. We cannot claim to fight for the working class while allowing a section of that class to be hunted like wild animals,” the letter added.
