The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) has carefully considered President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national address on migration, immigration enforcement and social cohesion.
We welcome several important aspects of the address which bring government closer to positions that SAFTU has consistently advanced over many years.
Most importantly, we welcome the President’s unequivocal rejection of xenophobia, Afrophobia, racism, tribalism, vigilantism and mob justice. We further welcome his acknowledgement that illegal immigration is not the cause of all South Africa’s economic problems and that the country’s crisis cannot be reduced to the presence of migrants.
For many years SAFTU has argued that unemployment, poverty, inequality, corruption, deindustrialisation, collapsing municipalities, housing backlogs, inadequate public services and the rising cost of living are not caused by migrants. These are structural problems rooted in the failure of South Africa’s economic model to create decent jobs and improve the living conditions of the majority.
We therefore welcome the President’s recognition that the solution lies in economic growth, industrial expansion, infrastructure development, investment and the creation of millions of jobs. We also welcome the acknowledgement that migration is a global and continental phenomenon driven by uneven development, poverty, conflict and lack of opportunities across the region.
SAFTU particularly welcomes the President’s unequivocal statement that only the state has the authority to enforce immigration laws and that no individual or group has the right to stop people in the streets, demand identity documents, raid businesses, assault workers or intimidate communities. We further welcome his clear rejection of xenophobia, Afrophobia, racism, sexism, tribalism and all forms of intolerance.
However, South Africans have heard similar condemnations before. What is now required is decisive action. The country has witnessed repeated incidents in which individuals and organised groups have taken the law into their own hands, stopping people in the streets, conducting unlawful document inspections, intimidating workers, raiding businesses, assaulting migrants and refugees, and spreading fear in communities. These actions are criminal and cannot be tolerated in a constitutional democracy.
SAFTU therefore calls for the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those responsible for acts of intimidation, assault, extortion, vigilantism and violence. The law must be applied consistently, irrespective of who the perpetrators are or the political slogans under which they operate. Failure to act decisively creates a dangerous perception that certain vigilante formations enjoy political protection or tacit support from elements within the state.
SAFTU notes the President’s statement in full: “Only the State has the authority to enforce the law. No person or group has the right to take the law into their own hands. No one has the right to stop people in the street, to inspect identity documents, to raid businesses, or to intimidate and assault people. Such actions are unlawful and must be condemned by all South Africans. We reject xenophobia, Afrophobia, racism, sexism, tribalism and all forms of intolerance. We must work together as all sectors of society to address the challenges we face.” SAFTU agrees with this position and emphasises that it must now be translated into concrete enforcement measures and accountability.
SAFTU also notes with concern the President’s reference to the need for “all sectors of society” to work together to address these challenges. While social dialogue and cooperation are important, this must not be interpreted as an invitation for private individuals, community formations or political groups to assume law enforcement functions. Any ambiguity on this matter risks emboldening vigilante elements who seek to cloak unlawful activities in the language of community action. Government must make it unequivocally clear that the enforcement of immigration and labour laws remains the sole responsibility of properly mandated state institutions operating within the Constitution and the rule of law.
At the same time, SAFTU reiterates that concerns about immigration policy, border management and the enforcement of labour and immigration laws must be addressed through lawful, democratic and constitutional means. The failure of the state to effectively regulate labour markets, combat corruption, secure borders and enforce existing legislation has contributed to public frustration and social tensions. These failures must not be ignored, but neither can they be used to justify vigilantism, xenophobia or attacks on vulnerable people. The responsibility for addressing these challenges rests squarely with the state and its institutions.
The South African Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority and all law enforcement agencies must act urgently to dispel the growing perception that authorities have stood by while migrants, refugees and even South African citizens have been harassed in public. Confidence in the rule of law can only be restored when those responsible for these acts are arrested, prosecuted and held accountable. SAFTU calls on SAPS to establish dedicated investigative teams in provinces where such incidents have occurred, to open and publicly track all related criminal cases, and to provide quarterly reports on arrests, prosecutions and convictions arising from vigilante activities. The NPA should prioritise these cases through specialised prosecutors and publish regular progress updates to ensure transparency and accountability.
SAFTU further welcomes the President’s acknowledgement that many employers deliberately exploit undocumented workers because they are vulnerable and can be paid below the minimum wage, denied basic protections and forced to work under unacceptable conditions. This reflects what SAFTU and its affiliates encounter daily across farms, construction sites, logistics operations, security companies, restaurants, factories and other workplaces.
We therefore support stronger action against employers who exploit undocumented workers. However, the law must apply equally to all. Just as employers who exploit undocumented workers must face arrest and prosecution, so too must corrupt Home Affairs officials who sell documents, labour brokers who facilitate exploitation, criminal syndicates involved in trafficking and smuggling, and vigilante groups that assault people under the guise of enforcing immigration laws. South Africa cannot defeat lawlessness by tolerating another form of lawlessness. We cannot defend the rule of law by allowing mobs to take the law into their own hands.
SAFTU therefore calls for joint enforcement operations between the Department of Employment and Labour, Home Affairs, SAPS and the Border Management Authority, with clear targets for workplace inspections, anti-corruption investigations and prosecutions of employers and officials involved in exploitation and document fraud.
The federation also welcomes the announcement regarding the recruitment of additional labour inspectors. For years SAFTU has warned that labour laws mean little if there is no capacity to enforce them. Workers have repeatedly reported situations where complaints remain unresolved for months because of severe shortages of inspectors and enforcement personnel.
However, while the President acknowledged weaknesses in the management and enforcement of immigration laws, the address did not go far enough in explaining the root causes of these failures.
The chronic understaffing of Home Affairs, labour inspectorates, border management agencies, the police, customs services and other state institutions is not an accident. It is the direct consequence of years of austerity measures, budget cuts and hiring freezes that have hollowed out state capacity. Government cannot simultaneously lament weak enforcement while continuing policies that undermine the very institutions responsible for enforcing the law.
South Africans are entitled to ask why Home Affairs struggles with backlogs, why labour inspectors are overstretched, why police stations remain understaffed and why border controls remain inadequate. The answer cannot be separated from the austerity programme that has systematically reduced the state’s capacity to perform its constitutional functions.
The President’s address also falls short in failing to adequately acknowledge the broader crisis in public services. Communities are frustrated not simply because of immigration concerns but because they confront teacher shortages, nurse shortages, housing backlogs, collapsing municipalities, failing infrastructure, inadequate public transport and widespread unemployment. These conditions create fertile ground for frustration, anger and scapegoating. Unless these underlying conditions are addressed, social tensions will continue to intensify.
SAFTU further notes the President’s acknowledgement that many communities feel excluded from economic opportunities and have raised concerns regarding foreign-owned spaza shops and other informal businesses. These concerns should neither be dismissed nor manipulated.
Government is correct to support South African-owned informal businesses. However, registration alone will not solve the crisis facing township and rural economies.
The real challenge is that many South Africans lack access to affordable finance, bulk purchasing arrangements, warehousing facilities, business infrastructure, municipal support, training and supply chains. Government must therefore go beyond registration and develop a comprehensive township and rural industrialisation strategy that empowers local entrepreneurs, cooperatives and community-owned enterprises.
SAFTU believes that the debate about spaza shops must not be reduced to nationality. The central question is why so many South Africans remain excluded from economic opportunities in the communities where they live. That requires investment, financing, skills development, infrastructure and local economic development, not scapegoating.
The federation also welcomes the President’s acknowledgement that corruption within Home Affairs and related institutions has contributed significantly to the current challenges. SAFTU has long argued that corruption, document fraud, permit rackets and organised criminal syndicates have played a major role in undermining immigration management. These networks must be dismantled and those responsible prosecuted.
Finally, SAFTU welcomes the President’s recognition that migration pressures cannot be solved through enforcement alone. The long-term solution lies in building an Africa where people migrate by choice rather than desperation. This requires regional industrial development, job creation, infrastructure investment, peace, economic cooperation and the reversal of the uneven development that continues to characterise the Southern African region.
SAFTU therefore urges government to move beyond well-packaged rhetoric and demonstrate through concrete action that it is serious about restoring the rule of law. This requires rebuilding state capacity through a funded plan to fill critical vacancies within Home Affairs, labour inspectorates, SAPS and border management agencies within the next 12 months; increasing the number of labour inspectors and immigration officers by measurable annual targets; establishing an independent anti-corruption unit focused on Home Affairs and border administration; strengthening labour inspections through mandatory inspections in high-risk sectors; publishing annual enforcement statistics; prosecuting employers who exploit vulnerable workers; and taking decisive action against those who seek to spread fear, division and violence in our communities.
Government should commit to reporting publicly to Parliament every six months on progress against these targets so that implementation can be independently monitored and assessed.
South Africa needs effective border management. It needs the enforcement of labour and immigration laws. It needs decisive action against corruption and exploitation. But it also needs jobs, industrialisation, functioning public services and an end to austerity. Most importantly, it needs unity among working people and the rejection of all attempts to divide the poor against the poor while the deeper causes of unemployment, poverty and inequality remain untouched.
A statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU by the General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi.
For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at:
Newton Masuku newtonm@saftu.org.za
0661682157
Media Officer: Asive Dyani 0719019564
