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A leading African trade unionist has challenged unions across West Africa to do things differently in response to the region’s social and economic problems.
Bayla Sow, ITF executive board member and shortly to become ITF’s Africa Francophone coordinator, was addressing 61 trade unionists from 34 transport unions in eight countries. They were participating in the recent meeting in Ghana of the coordinating committee of the West African sub-regional trade unions affiliated to the ITF.
He stated: “Workers and trade unions are experiencing great difficulties today. I challenge African trade unionists to find better strategies and new ways to overcome the weaknesses in our unions and in the entire African labour force.”
Seventeen women were among the representatives of trade unions from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and Togo at the two-day meeting (28-29 January) in Accra. The meeting was chaired by Yvonne Lawson, vice chairlady of the committee, and included speeches by Koffi Asamoah, secretary general of the Ghana Trade Union Congress; Emmanuel Mensah, ITF vice president for Africa and executive board member; and Nazi Kabore, sub-regional coordinator, ITF West Africa.
Speakers addressed how neo-liberal economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and financial globalisation were making work more precarious as employees face rising unemployment, massive layoffs, deteriorating living and working conditions and violations of trade union rights. They also discussed how trade unions could achieve greater worker participation in their activities; organise young, women and informal economy workers; and better promote gender equality, social dialogue and decent work.
The committee also looked at assessment reports of the implementation of the Strong Unions-Sustainable Transport program, ITF participation in sub-regional governmental and employers’ organisations and preparations for the ITF Africa regional conference in Maputo, Mozambique, in September 2013.