The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded immediate action to stop xenophobic attacks on African migrants in South Africa. In a letter dated May 7, 2026, addressed to the President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in Johannesburg, NLC President Joe Ajaero condemned recent killings and the destruction of businesses owned by African migrants. He attributed the violence to economic hardship and failed government policies.
Ajaero stated that South Africa cannot claim to defend the working class while allowing migrant workers to be "hunted like wild animals." He urged COSATU to lead a mass educational campaign in unions, communities, and workplaces to dispel the myth that migrants cause poverty. "We must break, once and for all, the racist myth that a fellow black African from across a colonial border is our enemy," Ajaero said.
The NLC accused South African security forces of a passive response, alleging complicity in the violence. Ajaero called for full deployment of state resources to protect migrant workers and their properties. He demanded swift prosecution of perpetrators and compensation for families who lost loved ones or livelihoods.
Ajaero warned that xenophobia threatens working-class unity across Africa, weakening collective bargaining power against exploitation. "Xenophobia is not good for anybody, especially the world of work, because it fractures working-class unity and weakens our collective bargaining power against capital," he said. The NLC proposed an emergency meeting of African trade union centres under the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation and the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity. The meeting would develop joint mechanisms to protect migrant workers.
Ajaero cautioned that unchecked xenophobic violence in South Africa could spread across the continent. "Xenophobia is a cancer that, if not excised in South Africa, will metastasise across the continent," he said.
