WASHINGTON, DC (August 5, 2014) —The AFL-CIO and African trade unions called on U.S. and African leaders to adopt a decent work agenda for trade and economic growth where the creation of good jobs that respect worker rights and provide social protections will lead to greater shared prosperity. Union leaders expressed these views as part of an official U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit workshop yesterday on work and priorities for African and U.S. leaders.
The panel discussion highlighted the reality that workers and their families are not sharing in the prosperity even though many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are seeing tremendous economic growth through oil and mineral exports, the emergence of a textile sector and expanding foreign investment. In many sub-Saharan African countries, the majority of workers toil in the informal economy, leaving them vulnerable to economic shocks, without social protections and with limited ability to transition into formal employment. These conditions have created a multigenerational cycle of poverty.
Sahra Ryklief, Secretary General of the International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (South Africa), said: “Why do we promote decent work? Because if we don't, we are headed for disaster. For a worker who does not have a steady income, life is precarious. And Africa has 80 percent of the population in informal work--many of them women. So many that they have come to be known as the 'precariat,'”
To combat this problem and the gross inequality that it engenders, Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation -Africa called for focused strategies that industrialize national economies and create better, formal-sector jobs. Formal livelihoods that provide real wages and a decent standard of living, they argued, are key to lifting up the working poor. In addition, the wealth generated through high levels of economic growth over the past decade should be reinvested in the African people via strong social institutions and investment in working women and men, through effective skills training programs.
The workshop submitted 10 recommendations for African and U.S. governments and civil societies, which will be part of discussions among the heads of state and finance ministers gathered for the summit. Among them were:
} Government and private-sector institutions must be responsible for including civil society in economic decision-making, and for upholding social dialogue and worker rights in policy and in fact.
} African governments must adopt employment-based strategies for economic growth where the creation of decent work—complete with labor rights, social dialogue and protection—harness the productive capacity of citizens to create inclusive growth.
} The U.S. government must actively mobilize international support for building a global partnership for development (Goal 8 of the post–2015 development agenda) to include targets for full employment and decent work, including fundamental worker rights, social protection floors, gender equality, and inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
} Trade and investment must support the creation of decent work and instruments like the African Growth and Opportunity Act should be updated to ensure more robust processes for determining countries' eligibility, including its respect for worker rights.
The gathering—“Promoting Decent Work: Priorities for U.S. and African Leaders, Civil Society and Private-Sector Shareholders”—was an official civil society event of the summit and featured:
- Christopher Lu, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor;
- Steven Feldstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor;
- Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation-Africa;
- Eric Biehl, Associate Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, International Labor Affairs Bureau;
- Sahra Ryklief, Secretary General of the International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations; and
- Sabina Dewan, President and Executive Director of the Just Jobs Network.
The final set of recommendations will be publicly available soon. To track how worker rights are being addressed by Africa Summit heads of state, follow us on www.aflcio.org or on Twitter @AFLCIOGlobal.
Contact: Anthony DeAngelo (202) 637-5018