South African workers face a grim reality of unemployment and poverty. Cosatu advocates for a balanced approach to migration, urging for both management and a rejection of xenophobia to protect the working class.
South African workers are hurting.
We wake up every day to the same story: no jobs, no hope, no safety. In this climate, migration has become a flashpoint.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) believes we need two things at once: honest management of migration, and a total rejection of xenophobia. We cannot choose one and ignore the other. Both are about protecting the working class.
Let’s be blunt about where we stand. Unemployment is at 43.7%. For young people, it is over 60%. That means 12 million people are locked out of the economy. Two out of three young workers have never had a job.
