Nigeria's labour movement has issued an urgent plea to South African trade unions. The Nigeria Labour Congress wants them to decisively condemn xenophobic violence.
Joe Ajaero, the NLC president, made the call from Abuja. He's demanding more than statements — he wants mass mobilisation across every union hall and factory floor.
Workers from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, and Nigeria are being killed simply for being African. Ajaero described the violence as unconscionable.
"We are compelled by the blood of our fellow Black workers," he wrote in a detailed statement. "They are being murdered, not for any crime, but for the sin of being African in Africa."
Livelihoods built over decades are being destroyed in South African towns. Ajaero noted the brutal erasure of years of labour and sacrifice.
According to him, the attacks stem from deeper economic failures across the globe. South Africa's crisis of joblessness, inadequate housing, and weak social services is real, he acknowledged.
But ruling elites always redirect working-class anger downward. When governments fail, immigrants become easy targets.
"Our common enemy is not the migrant worker hawking goods in Soweto," Ajaero stated. "It is neoliberalism, capitalism's most vicious mask."
Failed policies prioritise profit over people's needs. That's what fuels the scapegoating of foreign workers.
He's calling on COSATU, South Africa's main labour federation, to use its power. They must pressure their government into swift protective action.
The NLC reminded COSATU of shared history. Trade unions across Africa fought apartheid together, supported by Nigerian workers and their resources.
South African students once studied in Nigerian universities on government scholarships. Nigerians offered them solidarity and belonging.
"We cannot abandon that history," Ajaero noted firmly. Defending workers can't mean abandoning part of the working class to violence.
COSATU must lead educational campaigns in unions and communities. Workers need to understand the real causes of poverty.
According to Ajaero, migrant workers aren't causing poverty — they're victims of the same system. That distinction matters enormously.
Racist mythology about African neighbours across colonial borders must be destroyed. It's poisoning working-class consciousness.
Xenophobia weakens labour power against capital. It fragments the unity workers need for collective bargaining strength.
The NLC is urging a continental pushback against this violence. Minds must change before working-class unity shatters beyond repair.
Regional and global trade unions share responsibility for Africa's workforces. Protecting South Africa's migrant communities is everyone's obligation.
Ajaero called for a Pan-African labour response to the crisis. Trade unionists across borders must stand together now.
