Trade unions in Africa are cooking a wider, stronger and influential alliance to engender a change from bad to good governance. CHRISTIAN APPOLOS, writes on their disclosures at a recent gathering.
It was a high powerful delegates’ meeting of top most trade unions in Africa.The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-AFRICA) representing 101 Trade Unions in 51 countries of the continent, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Trades Union Congress of Ghana, and of course the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), were all present.
The remarks by different leaders of the represented countries and ITUC-Africa, centered on how workers are fade-up with bad governance and further impoverishment of Africans and the continent as an entity. Each, highlighted the level poverty and suffering of Africans and how governments’ policies worsen the situation. The core message was that politicians and their leadership styles cause and re-enforce the ever growing misfortunes the continent suffers, hence the need for workers to form a stronger alliance to counter and change the narrative.
President of NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero opened the floor with these words; “At this time when the world of work is facing serious turbulence from diverse forces of centrifuge; at this moment when our continent faces severe pressures from external forces seeking to continue milking and leeching on our people; this gathering of leading trade unions in our continent becomes imperative and timely.
“As workers and as trade unions, it is our responsibility to create frameworks for the protection of workers from the continent against predatory global capital. It is our duty to ensure that African nations are free from the onslaught and inexorable march of the forces of deprivation and emasculation. We must interrogate and query the forces that seek to determine the flow of global resources in favour of the West through the insidious.
“We must challenge the powers that have institutionalized the continuous exploitation of African labour and perpetuating the hemorrhaging of our human resources for the benefit of the West and to the detriment of the nations of Africa.
“However, for us to effectively engage these forces, we must have to build internal capacities within the trade unions and deepen our networks continuously. Alliances like this creates the needed opportunity for us to empower ourselves by exchanging ideas and sharing diverse experiences. These build confluences which increases learning and deepens knowledge thus strengthens us towards delivering benefits to workers and peoples of Africa.
“It is not an easy task. It is one consistent step at a time! Pushing back steadily, firmly and continuously remains the best way to go. This push back begins with us realizing that the people and workers of Africa depend on us. I therefore call on all of us to; let the push back begin!
“We must therefore more than ever before build greater resilience and patience focusing on the clear objective of creating greater opportunities for delivering equity and fairness to workers and peoples of Africa. Our duty remains to ensure that the vulnerable are protected and those at work do so within the ambits of the tenets of the Decent work Agenda. The unfortunate prevalence of poverty in Africa and amongst Africans has to be tackled; that about 70% of the poorest people in the world reside in Africa despite the continent being the treasure trove of the world is unacceptable; that the poverty capital of the world is here in our continent questions sane logic but its stark realities must spur us to work harder rather than discourage us.”
Ajaero went on to say; “Every year real wages drop in most parts of the continent even while our people work harder. Poverty statistics for our continent is frightening; more than half of African people live in poverty, Nigeria and DR Congo represents the two countries in the world with the highest number of poor people; over 400M Africans are poor and it is increasing; 28 of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa.
“It is time to excise the hands of the external forces and that of their internal collaborators that have worked together to keep our nations and peoples perpetually yoked in the cesspit of poverty out of our necks. Our resources must work for us in Africa, it must speak our language and must make our nations and people better. It is our responsibility to resist every form of war mongering in our continent in whatever guise.
“We are one of the few platforms that are optimally positioned to play this role effectively. The future of our continent is going to be determined by how well we are able to play this role and how persistent we are in the face of the countervailing powers.
“Trade Unions of Africa must lead the charge in nudging our countries to take the right steps to align appropriately in a symbiotic and beneficial manner in favour of workers and peoples of the continent.
“With many frameworks signed to deepen intra-African engagements, it is our responsibility to our members across the continent to ensure that they do not lose significantly to their formation but that we work within the tripartite+ process to articulate, protect and project our collective interests. If we do not get actively involved in these processes, we risk a hijack by external forces who have unfortunately taken over our governance processes for their benefits to the detriment of the continent. We are therefore condemned to taking action or we remain exploited and subjugated.
“As we therefore make up our minds to commence a deliberate push back against all the forces that have held our continent down, I urge all of us to put heads together to take decisions that would seize the global conversations especially within the Industrial Relations sphere through the instruments of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and others.”
Following suit, COSATU President, Zingiswa Losi, said; “Our hearts are united by a shared commitment to uplifting the rights, dignity and prosperity of workers across the African continent. We’re also reminded of the immense potential that lies within our collective efforts to champion the rights, the aspirations, and the well being of our workers across our diverse and vibrant continent.
“COSATU recognizes that these challenges are not unique to South Africa alone. We understand that our fellow trade unions and workers confront similar obstacles in their pursuit of better lives. And I must say that is clearly articulated by the NLC president in his welcoming remarks.
“The issues of unemployment, inadequate wages, lack of social protection, and gender inequalities. These are battles we collectively wage in various context. So the African Trade Unions Alliance, we serve as a powerful vehicle for collective action for fostering a spirit of unity that transcends borders.
‘We recognize that the fight for fair labour practices, for just wages and a safe workplace knows no boundaries. In far too many regions. workers face precarious conditions of work, without adequate safeguards or legal protection. The informal sector, which is a lifeline for many offers little to no security and minimal prospects for advancement.
“It is important for us to soldier on and work together in ensuring that we are the ones that are leading in coming with solutions to the challenges that are confronting our continent. So as we stand shoulder to shoulder in leadership, we have the opportunity to effect profound change that goes far beyond our time.
“We pride ourselves of coming from the African continent that is very wealthy, but it’s people are poor. This narrative has to change. And as the labour movement in the African continent, we have to set a new narrative.”
TUC Ghana President, Anthony Yan Baah, in the same vein said; “Our political leaders are pursuing their own interests not the interests of the people. That is the reason we are seeing what we’re seeing on the continent. The sad thing is that this political leaders are from the societies. So the question is, why is it that our societies are providing bad leaders for us? We need to reflect on this.
“Let’s remember when our societies and our land were in the hands of colonialist in the 50s and the 60s, or later in the 90s in South Africa. The trade unions led the struggle and took our countries back from Colonia imperialist. It is time for us to come together again, to take our countries and our society from our politicians.
“The only way we can do that is to come together. That is why Ghana TUC, we really want to assure the Alliance members that we are willing to put all the effort we can put into this alliance because the only way we can get power back into the hands of the people is to build the civil society institutions that can challenge the powers that be. And the only organisations in our continent that can do that are the trade unions.”
Also speaking, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Kwasi Adu Amankwa, said that the Alliance would keep an eye on Nigeria and aid the NLC in its fight.
Amankwa added that Nigeria must be protected since anything that happens to it will have a significant impact on the entire continent.
He said: “The difficult situation now, not only in the continent but in Nigeria, is the fact that the NLC is involved very heavily in struggling now.
“But I want to assure the NLC that not only are they comrades in alliance, but all of us in the Trade Union around the continent, are keeping a close watch on what is happening in Nigeria and we are looking forward to good progress in your struggle for social not only economic gains but also in your struggle in doing everything possible to keep the gate spaces for political expression in Nigeria because, we know that if Nigeria suffers any major set back, it has dire implications for what happens to the rest of the continent.
“So comrades of NLC, keep up the struggle, we are watching closely and whatever it takes to support your struggles, we the wider African trade union movement are ready to support you.”
