26 June 2026
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) notes the planned national action on 30 June and calls on all workers, employers, communities, and law-enforcement agencies to act responsibly in the interest of public safety, workplace stability, and constitutional order.
FEDUSA understands the anxiety and frustration in communities over unemployment, crime, pressure on public services and illegal immigration. These concerns are serious and require urgent government action. South Africans are entitled to demand a capable state, secure borders, functioning Home Affairs systems, effective policing, and proper enforcement of labour laws. However, these demands must be pursued lawfully. South Africa cannot afford a day of intimidation, violence, unlawful shutdowns or attacks on workers and members of the public. Workers must be able to travel to work safely. Commuters must be protected and public transport, clinics, hospitals, schools, shops, factories, farms, and critical infrastructure must not become targets of disruption or confrontation.
FEDUSA reminds workers that the planned action has not been called by FEDUSA and does not constitute a protected strike under the Labour Relations Act. Workers are advised to make upfront arrangements with their employers where credible safety concerns may affect their ability to travel to and from work. No worker should be intimidated into staying away from work, and no worker should be forced to place their life, health or personal security at risk in order to report for duty. We therefore urge workers to report for duty where it is safe to do so, exercise caution when travelling, avoid areas of conflict where possible, and report any intimidation or threats to their employers, unions, and law-enforcement authorities.
FEDUSA calls on employers to act responsibly and not treat 30 June as an ordinary operational day if credible safety risks arise. Employers have a legal and moral obligation to provide a safe working environment. This includes communicating clearly with employees and trade unions, monitoring risks around workplaces and transport routes, allowing reasonable flexibility where safety is genuinely compromised, and ensuring that workers are not forced into unsafe situations.
FEDUSA further calls on the South African Police Service, metro police, intelligence structures, and relevant state agencies to ensure visible, coordinated, and lawful protection of workers, commuters, businesses, public facilities and critical infrastructure. The right to peaceful protest must be protected, but no protest may be used as cover for violence, ethnic profiling, forced removals, looting, threats or the unlawful closure of workplaces and public services.
FEDUSA remains firmly opposed to vigilantism. Immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the state. No individual or group has the authority to stop people in the streets, demand identity documents, raid workplaces, remove people from communities or decide who may access public services. At the same time, FEDUSA reiterates its long-standing position that employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers must face decisive consequences. Such employers exploit vulnerable people, undermine South African workers, weaken collective bargaining, and fuel social tensions. The answer lies in stronger labour inspection, criminal prosecution where laws have been broken, proper border management, reliable documentation systems and action against corruption.
South Africa needs lawful migration management, not mob justice. It needs a capable state, not communities forced to fill the vacuum left by weak institutions as it does, employers who obey the law, not businesses that profit from vulnerability and division. FEDUSA calls for calm, vigilance, and responsible leadership. The safety of workers and the public must come first. Our democracy is tested not only by the grievances we raise, but by how we choose to raise them.
END.