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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

NLC Demands Protection for Migrants in South Africa

From The Punch · (1h ago) English Critical tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) urged the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to launch a campaign against xenophobia and protect migrant workers in South Africa.
  • NLC President Joe Ajaero warned that South Africa cannot champion the working class while allowing African migrants to be killed, urging COSATU to educate communities and workplaces that migrant workers are victims, not causes, of poverty.
  • Ajaero condemned the attacks on African migrants, attributing them to economic hardship and failed government policies, and called for solidarity against exploitation and neoliberalism, rather than blaming foreign workers.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed grave concern and solidarity with migrant workers in South Africa, condemning the brutal xenophobic attacks and killings that have plagued the nation. In a strong letter to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), NLC President Joe Ajaero implored his South African counterparts to spearhead a robust educational and sensitization campaign to dismantle the racist myth that fellow Africans from across borders are enemies.

We cannot claim to fight for the working class while allowing a section of that class to be hunted like wild animals.

— Joe AjaeroNLC President Joe Ajaero's statement warning against xenophobia in South Africa.

Ajaero’s impassioned plea highlights the hypocrisy of a nation that claims to defend the working class while allowing its African migrant population to be hunted and killed. He rightly points out that these migrants are not the architects of poverty but are themselves victims of the same systemic failures and neoliberal policies that plague the continent. The NLC’s message is a stark reminder of the historical solidarity between Nigerian and South African workers, particularly during the anti-apartheid struggle, and a call to rekindle that spirit against contemporary exploitation.

We must teach that the migrant worker is not a cause of poverty but a victim of the same system.

— Joe AjaeroNLC President Joe Ajaero's call for education and sensitization against xenophobia.

The NLC’s intervention is particularly significant from a Nigerian perspective, where the issue of xenophobia in South Africa has long been a source of deep frustration and anger. While international media often reports on the incidents, the NLC’s direct engagement with COSATU aims to foster a more proactive and unified labor response. This approach underscores the belief that the labor movement, both within South Africa and across Africa, has a critical role to play in challenging the divisive narratives that fuel such violence and in holding governments accountable for policies that exacerbate economic hardship and redirect public anger towards vulnerable populations.

We must break, once and for all, the racist myth that a fellow black African from across a colonial border is our enemy.

— Joe AjaeroNLC President Joe Ajaero's condemnation of the racist narrative fueling xenophobia.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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