Vavi warns migrants are being used as scapegoats for South Africa’s economic problems

SAFTU general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has warned that African migrants are being used as a scapegoat for South Africa’s deeper socio-economic problems, saying rising hostility in communities is fuelling xenophobic tensions.

Where and when he spoke

Vavi made the remarks in an interview on the SABC after a joint media briefing by organised labour federations COSATU, FEDUSA, SAFTU and NACTU held at NEDLAC headquarters in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Concerns about public rhetoric and international reputation

He said organised labour was concerned that rising anti-migrant sentiment was damaging South Africa’s international reputation and that labour federations had received feedback from global bodies on the issue.

“We are worried that we are being painted in a very terrible light at the international level,” Vavi said.

Vavi said some feedback from the International Labour Organisation suggested concerns about xenophobic attacks targeting African workers and a perceived silence from South African labour movements. He said this contributed to labour federations deciding to speak “in one voice”, warning that the situation was deteriorating.

Language on the ground versus official messaging

Vavi warned of a growing disconnect between official language on migration and what was happening in communities, where migrants were increasingly being targeted. While public discourse referred to undocumented or “illegal foreigners,” he said the language used on the ground was often more extreme.

“In the streets they are saying we want to clean South Africa, and then everyone must go,” he said.

He also cautioned that such rhetoric risked normalising violence and drew a comparison with past mass violence on the continent.

“This type of language reminds us exactly of what happened in Rwanda, when people were referred to as cockroaches,” he said.

Targets, motives and labour’s stance

Vavi said migrants were increasingly being targeted in some communities through violence and intimidation, and that people were often attacked based on appearance or language. He said economic hardship, unemployment and inequality were driving anger in communities, which in turn was fuelling resentment towards foreign nationals.

“When they’re beating up people in the streets, they beat up anybody that looks darker,” he said.

Describing migrants as a convenient explanation for deeper problems, Vavi said they were being used as a “bogeyman”.

“They have to find somebody to blame,” he said.

Warnings about mobilisation

Vavi warned about a mobilisation around a 30 June deadline circulating in some communities and said organised labour had not called for any strike or protest action. He urged workers not to participate in unlawful activities.