“Defend Democracy. Reject the Shutdown”

Comrades, fellow workers, members of the media,

We stand together today as COSATU and Organised Labour, in South Africa and across Africa, because the working class is under severe pressure, and we will not allow that pressure to be turned against fellow workers.

We see the anger. We share it. Millions of South Africans are facing unemployment, poverty, inequality, crime, and collapsing public services. These grievances are real and legitimate. They demand urgent, practical solutions.

But let us be blunt: South Africa and Africa’s economic crises were not created by migrants. It is rooted in economic stagnation, deindustrialisation, mass unemployment, corruption, austerity, and weak governance. Migrants did not close factories, loot the state, or defund Home Affairs and Labour Inspection. Removing foreign nationals from workplaces or communities will not reopen plants, repair municipalities, or create sustainable jobs.

What concerns us deeply is that the current anti-migrant mobilisation appears increasingly coordinated and political. Its purpose is to divide the working class, redirect legitimate anger away from the real causes of our crisis, and portray South Africa internationally as a nation consumed by xenophobia. It also sows tribalism and conflict among African people, threatening the very unity workers need to confront exploitation.

An injury to one is an injury to all. We reject every attempt to divide us by nationality, ethnicity, or origin.

Organised Labour is unequivocally opposed to vigilantism. Only the democratic state may enforce immigration, labour, and criminal law. No individual or group has the right to stop people in the streets, demand documents, raid workplaces, or deny access to services.

You have the right to march and petition for effective immigration control. But protest is not a licence for intimidation, unlawful detention, or violence. We have seen where this leads – in 2008 and after. We will not allow history to repeat itself.

We are equally firm on employers who hire undocumented workers to pay lower wages, evade labour laws, and weaken collective bargaining are central to this crisis. They exploit South African and migrant workers alike. They must be prosecuted, and punished.

Crucially, we must address the root causes of high levels of migration itself. People do not leave their homes lightly. They migrate because of unemployment, poverty, repression, and lack of opportunity. The solution is to support democracy, respect for human rights, and the creation of decent jobs and economic opportunities in the home countries of migrants.

Unless African states tackle unemployment, corruption, and underdevelopment, migration pressures will continue. Employers will keep exploiting that vulnerability to suppress wages and divide workers. We therefore call for a coordinated regional and continental development programme, and for organised labour across Africa to hold governments accountable so that citizens can live, work, and prosper safely in their own countries.

Governments in all countries, not only South Africa, must accept responsibility. Weak border management, failing Home Affairs systems, too few labour inspectors, and corruption have eroded public confidence. You cannot weaken the state through austerity and then be surprised when it collapses. We demand a capable, properly resourced, and accountable state with stronger inspection, digitised but staffed systems, and zero tolerance for bribery.

We support lawful migration management and stronger measures against employers who break the law. But legislation is meaningless without capacity.

On the call for action on 30 June: This is not a protected strike called by recognised federations. Workers should report for duty. Government must act decisively against intimidation and violence against migrants or workers, including our members.

In closing, comrades: Migrants are not the cause of South Africa’s crisis. Exploitation, unemployment, corruption, and state failure are. Our answer is unity, not division. Law, not lawlessness. Jobs at home and across the continent, not scapegoats.

Amandla!