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Africa: Trade Union Perspectives
AfricaFocus Bulletin
July 7, 2014 (140707)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
"Almost all interviewees who responded to the Solidarity Center
survey, when asked about the general economic situation, noted some
economic growth. But they also were emphatic that the growth was not
accompanied by good jobs and did not trickle down or benefit the
majority of the population. ... The message that quantitative
macroeconomic growth is not sufficient to lift people out of poverty
or improve lives has [also] been a prominent theme in reports by
multilateral agencies in recent years." - Solidarity Center report,
April 2014
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains brief excerpts from a Solidarity
Center report just released, entitled "African Trade Unions and
Africa's Future: Strategic Choices in a Changing World." Based on
interviews by Solidarity Center field staff in 2013, the report, on
which I served as the principal consultant and report author,
provides a summary of views and excerpted comments from interviews
with 63 trade unionists and others related to the trade union sector
in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries represented in the interviews
included Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa,
Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Despite the variety of country
experiences and perspectives, there was significant convergence of
views on many issues.
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on the economy and development,
visit http://www.africafocus.org/econexp.php
Of particular relevance to this Bulletin:
Africa: Investor Perspectives
http://www.africafocus.org/docs14/inv1406.php
Africa: Whose "Africa Rising?"
http://www.africafocus.org/docs13/econ1310.php
South Africa: The Marikana Syndrome
http://www.africafocus.org/docs13/mar1308.php
Africa: Youth, "Waithood," and Protest
http://www.africafocus.org/docs13/honw1307.php
South Africa: The Marikana Era?
http://www.africafocus.org/docs12/saf1209a.php
Additional note and request to readers:
There have been highly significant developments in the trade union
scene in South Africa this year, namely the just-ended strike in the
platinum industry and the current strike by the metalworkers union
(NUMSA). For brief news summaries of the platinum strike see:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201406261458.html,
http://allafrica.com/stories/201406302219.html, and
http://tinyurl.com/m5555pf. For updates on the NUMSA strike, visit
the NUMSA website: http://www.numsa.org.za/.
If AfricaFocus readers are aware of any particularly helpful on-line
analyses of these recent developments, please do let me know about
them by writing to africafocus@igc.org
++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++
African Trade Unions and Africa's Future: Strategic Choices
in a Changing World
Summary report based on surveys and other research by Solidarity
Center staff and consultants, March 1 - October 10, 2013
Solidarity Center, April 2014
http://www.solidaritycenter.org / direct URL:
http://tinyurl.com/mgv9mgu
To gain a better understanding of the challenges facing trade unions
with which the Solidarity Center works, Solidarity Center staff and
consultants conducted interviews between July and October 2013 with
63 trade unionists and other individuals associated with the trade
union sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries of focus were
predominantly English-speaking and included Ghana, Kenya, Liberia,
Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The majority of people interviewed (50) held office in a union or
trade union federation, five were working at the shop-floor level and
eight were affiliated with union-related organizations as researchers
or program officers. The interviews were supplemented with desk
research, primarily sources accessed on the Web.
It should be noted that there are important differences in the
situation, challenges and capacity of trade unions across the
countries where interviews were conducted. ...
Unions have also come under pressure to adopt government perspectives
on economic policy. Governments and large companies court union
leaders who they hope will be responsive to management views. The
argument advanced, and sometimes accepted, is that economic growth
will be good for everyone and that workers should accept sacrifices
so that the country can attract investment and promote growth. While
many union leaders are strongly critical of such views, as reflected
in these interviews, others buy into the argument or are wary of
challenging the dominant perspective, at least in public debate.
In spite of this varied landscape, several broad conclusions stand
out based on a relative degree of consensus among interviewees and
other sources.
Key Findings
Unions function in a highly unfavorable economic environment
Today's economic and policy environment poses difficulties for trade
unions in several respects. Governments prioritize macroeconomic
growth over inclusive, sustainable growth that favors job creation
and human development. Globalization and economic competition in
their present form promote casualization of work and widen the
informal economy. Capital flows, both licit and illicit, drain
African countries of the resources they need for investment in public
goods and for sustainable development. These realities are global. In
Africa, their effects are magnified by the subordinate position of
African countries in the global economy.
While it is too early to speak of a new consensus, more and more
international organizations and economists working on African
development argue that the state must take a central role in ensuring
that growth includes structural transformation of African economies.
They call for measures to promote job creation, secure worker rights,
invest in social and physical infrastructure and enable African
countries to move up the ladder of global value chains. There is also
wide agreement on the imperative to address gender equity as
essential for development as well as for its intrinsic value as a
primary component of universal human rights. However, these
perspectives are not yet adequately reflected in the de facto
programs and policies of most governments or of key multilateral
agencies such as the World Bank.
Protections for workers are not enforced
At both the international and national levels, there is a significant
body of conventions and laws that protect worker rights. But
interviewees stressed that more often than not, governments do not
enforce these legal requirements, lacking both political will and
enforcement capacity. Some governments are overtly hostile to worker
rights. Trade unions, meanwhile, often lack capacity to negotiate
effectively for the implementation and enforcement of laws and
conventions. This holds true despite the wide variation in
relationships among trade unions and governments in the countries
included in the survey.
Unions lack sufficient resources
Unions differ widely in their capacity to defend workers' interests
and meet their expectations, and these contrasts were noted even
among unions within the same country. However, interviewees in all
countries frequently said that a dearth of resources, both financial
and human, hinders union effectiveness. Unions are hard-pressed to
sustain adequate financing through dues or other sources. They also
find it difficult to maintain staffing with adequately trained
personnel who can manage union affairs and negotiate with employers
and government.
Growth of the informal economy challenges unions
Trade unions have traditionally had their strongest base in the
formal economy. Their membership and resource base are being eroded
by the diminishing formal sector, the trend toward casualization and
the outsourcing of a wide range of jobs. Downsizing in the public
sector, often associated with privatization, is an important factor
in some countries. The effect of these changes is to diminish the
bargaining power of unions and depress wages.
Trade unionists widely recognize the need to find new ways to
organize in the informal and formal economies to maximize the
capacity of unions to strengthen social protections, improve
livelihoods and expand worker voices. While there are a few positive
examples of small-scale successes, the difficulties of organizing
workers in the informal economy remain formidable. Challenges include
the diverse patterns of work organization, the physical dispersion of
the informal workforce and the lack of sustainable financing for such
organizing.
Women's participation in unions and union leadership is increasing
but still limited
Interviewees broadly agreed that in recent years, international
pressure and the initiative of women have helped raise the issue of
women's roles in trade unionism. Women and their advocates have
achieved some concrete gains in terms of increasing women's
participation in unions and union leadership. However, survey
respondents noted that the commitment to gender issues is, in many
cases, more talk than action. Women in trade union leadership are
often confined to positions dealing specifically with gender issues
rather than serving in the highest-ranking positions, which limits
their impact within unions and the capacity of unions to represent
workers.
Women in the informal sector are vulnerable
Interviewees agreed on the importance of organizing in sectors of the
informal economy dominated by women workers, such as domestic work.
But while some efforts under way are promising, such as those in
South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique, they are limited in scope. Most
successful initiatives have involved small numbers of people or
focused on specific issues, such as ensuring coverage of domestic
workers by social security programs. Much remains to be done to
address the vulnerability of women working in the informal sector in
terms of their pay, working conditions and job security. In practice,
it continues to be very difficult to achieve sustainable organization
of large numbers of workers dispersed in individual households.
Implications
This general survey does not lend itself to detailed recommendations
tailored to specific national situations. Nor are there any easy
solutions to the obstacles for trade unions identified in the
interviews. However, the results do have broad implications for the
tasks trade unions must undertake to be successful in defending the
interests of workers and the broader society. Several of the most
important points are noted below.
African trade unions must find new ways of organizing unorganized
workers, particularly in the informal economy
The primary base for most trade unions remains the formal economy,
including employment in government, manufacturing and the service
sector. Continued strength in these sectors provides the foundation
for the survival and expansion of unions and formal-sector workers
must not be neglected. However, national and global economic trends
suggest that the proportion of workers in formal employment will
likely continue to decrease. Some unions have begun organizing within
the informal economy, but it is clear that these efforts must move
much higher on the agenda. Both unions and international agencies
supporting unions need to share experiences and invest more resources
in finding effective ways to organize among workers in the informal
economy.
African trade unions must play an active role in public life
Unions need to actively influence the economic and political
environment in their countries, especially in regard to public
policies that affect workers' interests directly. In Africa,
historically, unions played key roles in decolonization and national
liberation struggles and in promoting democratic institutions after
the formal achievement of political rights. Except for Swaziland, all
the countries in this survey have formal democratic institutions in
place. But worker rights and other democratic rights are at risk in
all countries, regardless of the spectrum of formal relationships
among trade unions and ruling parties. The active and independent
role of trade unions in the public sphere is essential both for the
preservation of democracy and for advancing worker rights and
inclusive economic growth.
African trade unions must speak out on national and international
economic policies
The prospects for trade unions depend in large part on economic
policies adopted by national governments and international agencies.
As the importance of job creation, sustainable development and
supportive social policies gains broader recognition, trade unions
have both an opportunity and an obligation to represent workers in
economic policy debates. This implies active participation in
research and policy advocacy in collaboration with allies in civil
society, government agencies and intergovernmental organizations.
African trade unions must help shape policy decisions affecting
workers
In addition, trade unions must take advantage of opportunities to
participate in organized structures for social dialogue involving
government, business and worker representatives. In some countries
unions have a formal role in the administration of public benefits,
such as social security and health insurance. These tasks require
specialized and knowledgeable personnel. Unions can also mobilize
their members and the public on policy issues of particular interest
to workers, such as minimum wage legislation and social safety nets.
The examples of effective participation in the survey countries point
to the considerable potential for productive exchange of experiences
between unions across sub-Saharan Africa.
African trade unions must step up their efforts to advance women's
rights within unions, in the workplace and wider society
As noted in the findings section above, trade unions have taken
encouraging steps to achieve more equitable inclusion of women in
union structures and to focus on issues disproportionately affecting
women in the workplace. These efforts must continue and intensify.
However, they will not be successful without parallel efforts to
confront the obstacles to equal rights and equal participation for
women that are built into current economic structures and societal
practices. This implies opening up economic sectors and occupations
that are still largely closed to women, as well as advancing
education for women, equity within the household and social support
for family obligations now primarily met by women. In short, trade
unions need to be and to be seen as leaders in the struggle for
comprehensive women's rights.
African trade unions must intensify dialogue and collaboration across
national boundaries, including with unions in other African countries
and with regional and global trade union allies
Economic globalization and the power of multilateral agencies at all
levels mean that trade unions cannot ignore the international
context. International solidarity, particularly in terms of mutual
support for trade unions facing particular crises, such as attacks on
established rights, has long been a fundamental premise of the trade
union movement. The African Regional Organization of the
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), among other
regional and global trade union groups, is actively promoting
exchange of experiences and collaboration among unions in different
African countries. However, the scale of this collaboration falls far
short of what is needed. Trade unions and agencies supporting them
should expand these efforts, both by increasing the opportunities for
dialogue and by building additional transnational links into current
bilateral cooperation initiatives. This should include expanded
communication using new information technologies and opportunities
for in-person, in-depth dialogue among trade unionists from different
countries. Such programs allow the sharing of lessons learned and
provide trade unionists with wider frames of reference and sources of
support beyond those available in their local context.
Chapter 1
Africa Is Rising -- But Good Jobs Lag Behind
The Africa Progress Report 2012 headlined its section on economic
growth "Moving to the Premier League." From Al Jazeera to the
Economist, world media have trumpeted an "Africa rising." The African
Development Bank (ADB) heralded the emergence of a new African middle
class, while investment counselors pitch Africa as the new global
economic frontier. The Economist noted in December 2011: "Over the
past decade six of the world's ten fastest-growing countries were
African. In eight of the past ten years, Africa has grown faster than
East Asia, including Japan. Even allowing for the knock-on effect of
the northern hemisphere's slowdown, the IMF expects Africa to grow by
6% this year and nearly 6% in 2012, about the same as Asia."
Some of the hype can be dismissed. The ADB's threshold for becoming
"middle class" is set at the extraordinarily low income level of $2
per day. And economist Morten Jerven has warned that most African
development statistics are based on such thin data and changing
criteria that "growth" in some cases represents nothing more than a
decision by statisticians to estimate the informal economy using a
different methodology.
But there is no doubt that economic growth is real, though it varies
widely from country to country and within each country. Economic
dynamism is evident in new extractive industry developments and
construction sites, as well as in the inflow of investment from new
partners such as China and the Gulf States. The proliferation of
mobile phone technology, visible in the streets as well as in the
statistics, is an additional reflection of this dynamism.
Moreover, multilateral agencies concur in predicting that rapid
growth will continue. The World Bank's newsletter Africa's Pulse for
April 2013 noted that about a quarter of sub-Saharan African
countries had growth rates of 7 percent or higher in 2012, with a
regional average of nearly 5 percent. The African Economic Outlook
2013, jointly prepared by the ADB, the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Center, the United
Nations Development Program and the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa, cites an annual growth rate for the entire
continent (excluding Libya) of 4.2 percent. The Outlook projected
that growth would increase to 4.8 percent in 2013 and 5.3 percent in
2014.
...
Almost all interviewees who responded to the Solidarity Center
survey, when asked about the general economic situation, noted some
economic growth. But they also were emphatic that the growth was not
accompanied by good jobs and did not trickle down or benefit the
majority of the population. Two countries offered partial exceptions
to this pattern. In Liberia, interviewees cited improvement, using
conditions during the civil war as the basis for comparison. And in
Zambia, interviewees noted higher wages in the formal sector
following the entry into office of a new political party that had
promised such increases.
The message that quantitative macroeconomic growth is not sufficient
to lift people out of poverty or improve lives has been a prominent
theme in reports by multilateral agencies in recent years. The Africa
Progress Panel titled its 2012 report Jobs, Justice and Equity, while
the World Bank's World Development Report 2013 featured a one-word
subtitle: Jobs.
...
Jobs, the report argues, should be center stage in the development
agenda. The issue of "jobless growth," particularly the lagging
creation of good jobs in a growing economy, is fundamental both to
the development agenda and to the environment confronting labor
unions. While the causes are as complex as development itself,
international agencies and critical scholars are increasingly in
consensus on a number of key points, which are consistent with the
factors cited in the interviews for this study.
Briefly summarized, these points are:
- Structural adjustment programs, with their emphasis on fiscal
balance and privatization, resulted in steep cuts to government
budgets. This in turn diminished a major source of formal employment,
weakened the institutions needed to ensure a well-educated and
healthy workforce, and failed to allow for sufficient long-term
investment in infrastructure for balanced development. Although the
"Washington consensus" behind these programs has weakened, even among
international financial institutions, the legacy of these policies
and emphasis on macroeconomic stability above all still weigh heavily
on the policy choices of African governments.
- The recovery of African growth rates depends heavily on growth in
oil and other extractive industries. These industries are capitalintensive,
that is, they produce relatively few jobs for the capital
invested, and they are highly dependent on sometimes volatile
international commodity prices. In addition, the capacity of
governments to negotiate mutually beneficial deals with large
multinational corporations is severely limited.
- Much of the capital entering Africa or generated there quickly
leaves the continent through mechanisms such as transfer pricing,
corruption, legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion. These assets
are no longer available to be taxed by the public sector or for jobcreating
domestic investment; the result is net losses for potential
job creation in the public and private sectors.
- The growth of the informal economy and the increasing use of casual
or temporary workers in the formal sector has a significant and
negative impact on the prospects for good jobs and decent work. It
also affects the ability of unions to organize workers and influence
policy. Informal and casual workers have little job security and few
benefits and they often live in precarious conditions. In many cases,
their families depend on income from the rural areas as well as an
urban place of employment. In some cases, they may be systematically
victimized by labor brokers or even traffickers.
While it is too early to speak of a "new consensus," many
international financial agencies and economists working on African
development now agree that it is essential for the state to take a
central role in ensuring that growth goes beyond the macro level to
propel structural transformation of African economies. This
transformation must include job creation, investment in social and
physical infrastructure, redistribution of resources to counter
inequality and advancement up the ladder of international value
chains. The role of the state shapes the economic environment that
trade unions and workers face, as well as the state's relationship
with workers and unions.
It is also clear that the fundamental economic and political
structures will not change without the active engagement of trade
unions at the national and continental levels In the words of Tetteh
Hormeku, head of programs for the Third World Network secretariat in
Ghana, in an interview with the Solidarity Center in March 2013:
"The demands on unions and the overall agenda facing them is of
historic proportions. Because fundamentally, African countries need
to transform their economies. As was the case in the struggles
against colonialism and apartheid, unions have a critical role to
play."
Trade unions are aware of this challenge, which is continental and
global as well as specific to each country. As transnational
corporations devise global and Africa-wide strategies, trade unions
must further develop their capacity to act on this wider stage. In
recent years the African Regional Organization of the International
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has taken the lead in
continent-wide collaboration. International links have also been made
through the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) and
through global union federations such as Public Services
International, IndustriALL, UNI Global Union, International Transport
Workers' Federation and International Federation of Journalists.
...
Encouraging examples of such collaboration do exist. Two notable
cases are the solidarity shown by the Congress of South African Trade
Unions (COSATU) with unions in the Southern African region,
particularly in Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and the support for the
Firestone Agricultural Workers' Union of Liberia (FAWUL) provided by
international partners, including the Solidarity Center. But there is
still great potential, and even greater need, to expand the exchange
of views and collaboration among unions across national borders, both
within and beyond the African continent.
...
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a
particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
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