In many of the discussions in the sub regional meeting that centred around the state of our unions, we discussed many issues affecting the sustainability of our unions as organisations.  Given the centrality of the concept of sustainable unionism; it is probably useful to introduce this concept in order to facilitate further discussion to reach consensus of its definition and build a practical understanding of the term.

1. Financial Sustainability: Self funded
If more income or even a large portion of income is derived from external organisations as opposed to membership contributions the locus of control and accountability in the organisation tends to shift upward and outward. Where this occurs the union can not be considered organisationally sustainable and organisational purpose and values will tend to be undermined.

2. Democracy and practiced values
For our purposes here a union, in its definitional form, is not seen as sustainable where membership participation is withdrawn or discouraged. At an organisational level democratic values are practicable where the political will and resources are directed at this core area. Where such processes and structures are actively supported other practiced values core to unionism, such as solidarity, tend also to grow. Functioning structures and workers control are required, where communication and education play a key role in developing active membership participation. Linking to broader social issues and communities is also key to building active membership based control in organisations. This principle underlies all others, an organisation is only relevant in as much as it represents the interests of its members, this is only practicable through democratic structures which vests ultimate decision making with workers.

3. Organisational effectiveness and efficiency
Unions are organisations and as such require efficient systems to support, not replace organisational purpose. Where systems are neglected long term sustainability is threatened. Such systems relate to finances, membership, structures and communication. Effectiveness considerations directs us to what systems we need.

4. Union organisational form and size
There is probably no formula as to the perfect size of a trade union as this is more often than not context dependant. However size and staffing levels must be appropriate to one another given the context of the organising scope of the organisation. Underlying any form or size must be the membership and decisions in this regards must be worker driven and worker controlled. The other question is what impact the organisation can have politically, either directly or through influencing the national centre where that organisation is sufficiently powerful.
5. Sustainability for what?
Sustainability does not mean survival at all costs as this is a clear indication of the means to an end becoming an end in itself. It is part of the life cycle of organisations to be born, mature and eventually die as the context and environment changes. Sustainability is also about looking beyond immediate organisations of workers to emergent forms of worker organisation. Sustainability means an organisation remaining relevant and honouring its purpose, through demonstrated (practiced) values associated with this purpose but ultimately one which is worker driven and worker managed and has political impact that favours the working class.

6. Sustainability in class and environmental context
Unions form part of a socioeconomic and community context and can not operate in strict isolation to these. Where they do their relevance will always be limited to economic demands and therefore prone to sectionalism. This includes the concepts of environmental sustainability, and the importance of resistance to systemic approaches that threaten broader concerns of sustainable human habitation of the planet. A working class agenda is key.

7. Unions must determine their own direction
Above all unions must determine their own route to sustainability and own the process along with the responsibility. If actions are taken and programmes adopted for the purpose of funds or to satisfy the dictates of outsiders the organisation is not independent and can not be sustainable. The basis of this determination must be worker lead and worker driven.

Throughout the IMF regions , the implementation of the action programme is being discussed in order to develop positions and ideas on the best way to take the programme forward.  

As a starting point, focus areas that are key to implementation have been drafted, these are:

1. Collective Bargaining
2. Union Building
3. Organising
4. Defend and Protect
5. Trade Union Challenges
6. Sustainable Trade Development and Employment

These six areas or the implementation of the action programme require unions to be sustainable and viable.

Sustainable unionism relates to a union being self funding democratic and accountable to workers, while viable unionism relates to the ability to have an impact on broader socioeconomic policy issues at a national level, either directly or through alliances and influence and support in and of the national centre.

IMF Africa in its sub regional meetings has already agreed amongst affiliates the there is an urgent need to move towards sustainable and viable unionism. This entails cooperation and merger of unions into broader sector unions as opposed to industry unions largely because of the structure of labour market. Already there are a number of IMF affiliates in the region that organise in more than one industry.

Union building and meeting trade union challenges means building sustainable and viable unions across small industries mostly populated with vulnerable workers. Once unions are more sustainable they will be better placed to defend and protect workers, including precarious workers.

Organising and collective bargaining are fundamental components of the work of trade unions yet these tasks are often neglected and often whittled down to activities of recruiting and wage negotiation. In unions where values of democracy are upheld, organising and collective bargaining are taken very seriously under the principle of worker democracy which is critical to the sustainability of a union.

Affiliates organise in industries which may have different levels and different forms of precarious work in them so the issue can be taken on board through implementing strategies in collective bargaining and organising.

Affiliates are also well placed to begin to engage with the true nature of precarious work in Africa through engagement on socio economic issues affecting the working class. Addressing precarious work will require broad regional approaches and country specific campaigning that must have solidarity and alliance building at its core.

The establishment of sustainable trade and employment in Africa requires the use of broad local and global coalitions to begin to change the context and nature of the labour market in the region. Capital does not create jobs for the sake of job creation. Jobs are therefore expendable in the chase for competitive lead and higher profits. Many investment surveys on Africa argue that employment is over regulated in the region but in reality this is far from the practiced truth and dropping labour standards will not bring more investment, it will only make workers more vulnerable. African unions need to be strong enough to stand up to the pursuit of capitalist interest in the region. Rich countries living up to their Official Development Assistance promises and fairer trade regimes are key to this focus area. Trade union solidarity between north and south is an essential component for developing pressure towards these ends.

The Southern African sub regional meeting held in June 2008 resolved that discussions on sustainable unionism and on precarious work need to be taken into union structures. In order to stimulate this as a process the regional office will prepare a discussion document collecting relevant facts and ideas together to circulate amongst affiliates from which the IMF hopes to gather feedback and stimulate debate for the development of a position for the region ahead of the next IMF World Congress.

in resisting apartheid in South Africa or stayed out of party politics in post colonial Kenya, resisted incorporation into the organs of state in Francophone Africa or stayed out of elections in Zimbabwe?  

Common sense tells us there are probably as many answers to these kinds of questions as there are different political situations and economic contexts in which the question is asked. So in order to begin to develop a broader response that may apply across different national situations we need to try and figure out some principles to apply to different situations.

The first question we may ask is what we mean by political? There is the narrow view that sees political as being limited to party political issues and therefore elections. This tends to be a liberal view that attempts to artificially  separate economics from politics. This view often argues that unions have no political role and usually goes further to argue that whilst unions have a right to exists they are negative institutions that prevent the free market from operating …well, freely. If we think about it though this makes no sense at all. How can politics be separate from economics? It’s like saying that ice and water are two completely different and unrelated things because one is solid and the other liquid and conveniently assuming away the effect of temperature. You see the connection between politics and economics every time you watch the news or read a newspaper. A politician says this or that and it affects the value of the currency. Labour legislation is changed to attract investors and workers suffer as a consequence.   
Unions are clearly not political parties but they most definitely are organisations of economic interest and by their very reason for existence must intervene in the economic arena to further the interests of the people that create and build union organisation, the working class. If the union does not have this as a purpose it simply can not be called a union.

If we accept that politics and economics are linked then as unionists we have to accept that political engagement is unavoidable. But does this mean simply throwing our support to one political party or another?

To answer this let us look at the other argument that sees politics and economics as inseparable. Here, to continue our ice and water analogy, temperature would be the mode of production in the society and it is not assumed away at all. If the society is based on the political economic system of capitalism the system it self dictates that the state must represent the interests of one class over the other for unless there is growth through the exploitation of labour the system itself can not continue to work. The simple understanding of this view would therefore see any political party that does not want to change the economic system and is trying to become the ruling party, as much the same as all the others. This view can make sense. Consider America, where people often say it makes no difference whether you vote for the Republican or Democratic party, there is only one party the Capitalist party.

Can this mean there no space to win benefits for the working class and therefore political engagement is pointless? As power collides in society there is space to win concessions that are in the interests of the working class.

Another possibility is where rulers come to see the whole system as being for their own purposes or benefit, We have seen this before in Africa, where sytems can come to resemble feudalism or even worse slavery, where the ruling party start to take on the image of royalty and the leader is king. In such a situation the capitalist class and working people may even find themselves in a strange alliance.

History shows us many points where workers have been able to take advantage of divisions in power to further our interests. The working week has been shortened, unions have won rights, at times bargaining has delivered improved living conditions and so on. So if as  labour leaders, we avoid these opportunities then we fail to represent the fundamental mandate of workers.

There is no denying that the labour movement can play an influential political role in a country. But how should we decide to step into the political arena? Maybe a candidate used to be part of the trade unions, or maybe the party is offering some support for the union federation’s building project, or maybe and so the reasons continue…These kinds of reasons have all been seen before but have also been shown as false reasons emerging because union leaders alone and not working class organizations as a whole has taken decisions to support a candidate.

We need clear reasons (a strategy), clear undertakings from a political parties (a manifesto that supports a working class agenda), vigilance to ensure that promises are kept (accountability from unions and parties), education that builds worker’s understanding and ownership of decisions (practiced democracy) and the process of deciding support and carrying it out must build working class unity. Beyond representing workers who have been dismissed or bargaining for wages the historic mission of the trade union movement has always been to unite the working class around their common interest.  

Should any of these elements be absent then the political engagement of a trade union is likely to go against the interests of workers. Too often in the past the blood of workers has been shed in the interests of bourgeoisie politics and the politics of division and personal enrichment. It is the absolute responsibility of workers and union leaders to ensure this does not happen.

was an organic intellectual schooled by concrete realities and  conditions on the ground. He was humble and down to earth and always prioritized the workers. He was the jewel in our crown. It is sad  when leaders from whom we are supposed to draw inspiration when we are visited by misfortune in our organisations are leaving us behind.  

When I started working at Volkswagen in 1994 PJ was already the president of Cosatu and a VW full-time shop steward. In 1995 there was a campaign in the plant that he must not be re-elected as a shop steward because he was serving Cosatu head office and not his constituency at plant level. But throughout the process Gomomo remained resilient, patiently engaging comrades constructively. He did not lose focus because he knew the challenges which go with a leadership position. He did not declare those who differed with him as his enemy. He held on and absorbed the pressure. Throughout this process, he accumulated a lot of experience. He became a politically mature comrade, a time-tested revolutionary, an embodiment of the (ANC, COSATU and SACP) Alliance.

He pushed for strategic unionism, where the role of Cosatu was to be concerned with broader social and political issues as well as the immediate needs of its members. He believed that the Union is a social force for transformation. It was important for the Union to remain committed to worker control and democracy, it must maintain its character as the movement and move with the challenges of the time.

 He was able to see and identify dangers to the workers years before they could happen.He was consistent in saying that we can not use strategies of the 1970s to address 1997 challenges.

In 2003, when Volkswagen was celebrating its 50 years anniversary he was invited by management to address the gathering. He advocated that the role of the union is to be proactive and effective. It must be able to monitor complex agreements with government and employers. It must be able to make important contributions to national and economic and social development. What he warned us about in 2003 and before is currently happening in the company: there are temporary employees on long term contracts, there are retrenchments, there is short time, there is inflation targeting and there is no massive employment.

PJ was a good negotiator and a problem solver. Even though he spent most of his time in Johannesburg at Cosatu he always prioritized Numsa work at plant level. He was efficient to intervene on critical issues in the plant. He first took plant level negotiations to provincial level in the structure called the Eastern Cape Industrial Council where only General Motors, VWSA and Ford were parties. Later he helped found the National Bargaining Forum (NBF) where Numsa and auto employers negotiate every three years.

When the employer locked workers out for eight days due to an illegal strike, he led the negotiations with the company. He demanded that workers be paid four days out of that eight days. But the human resources manager, BK Smith, told workers to “go to hell”. Gomomo responded by saying “we will meet in hell!” Workers with the help of Numsa lawyers returned to work with eight days pay, but only for Numsa members. After that every worker joined Numsa!   

He was also a disciplinarian. He once he led a delegation of Numsa shop stewards to Germany. Some shop stewards misbehaved and did not attend meetings. PJ and other shop stewards sent those shop stewards back home. They instructed them to report to members the reasons for them to come back early.

PJ lived, not because he could breathe
He did not live, because blood flowed through his veins
PJ lived, because he surrendered his very being to the people
PJ had a vision and a purpose in life
PJ ceased to be himself and became the parapet of the people
While Cosatu lives
While Numsa lives
PJ cannot die

Adapted from an article  in Numsa News No 1 March 2008 by Xolani Tshayana,  Numsa’s Education and Training Officer at Volkswagen.

Gomomo started working at Volkswagen in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape in the 1960s. At that time it was illegal for African workers to join trade unions. Racism was rife and divisions in the workplace on access to benefits and skills mirrored that of the apartheid state.

Yet Daniel Dube, Numsa’s first president elected in 1987, remembers that. “The success of Gomomo was in bringing together different racial groups with different politics — some supported Matanzima and the homelands policy, many coloureds supported the apartheid government’s tri- cameral policy. He made them focus on the power that they have got inside the factory irrespective of their different skin colours. By focusing on the improvement of their basic working conditions inside the factory,  these improved conditions would spill over to their social set-up.”

This unity could be seen when Gomomo and other shop stewards called meetings of all workers at  KwaNobuhle (African township in Uitenhage). “They would gather at Jabavu Stadium and you would see everyone – Africans, coloureds and a few whites. .” says Dube.

Because VW was a multinational with its headquarters in Germany, Gomomo started to play a strong leadership role and linked with the VW works council in Gothenburg, where the main VW factory was, as well as other cities in Germany. As international links were strengthened he learned first hand the importance of strong worker to worker contact across continents and countries. “Gomomo was the public face of South African workers at German metal union, IG Metall and of course Volkswagen in particular,” says researcher Chris Bolsmann. “His relationship with German activists, unionists, officials and Works Council members was crucial in ensuring the Uitenhage plant and apartheid more generally remained an important focus in German circles.”

But Gomomo was not a ‘clock card’ shop steward. His concerns for his members stretched beyond the factory floor.  “Gomomo was one of the prominent leaders in the community in guiding and advising,” says Dube. He helped to ensure that organised workers took up community complaints and used workplace pressure on workers’ companies to put pressure on local government to resolve the problems. And in communities he, with others, encouraged the formation of street and area committees to strengthen democracy within the community.

For all these efforts he suffered personally. His house was petrol bombed and he narrowly escaped injury. Such was fellow VW workers’ concern and respect for their leader that “they took it upon themselves to protect Gomomo — they would sleep inside his yard night after night,” remembers Dube.

And when the security police tried to detain him, they came up against the might of VW workers. If Gomomo was detained early in the morning “by 9am the whole of VW had stopped work and were marching to security police offices in Uitenhage,” says Dube. Workers would threaten VW management that they would only resume work once he was released. “And now VW was under pressure because the German head office would not allow the factory to stand still because of anti-apartheid pressure on German companies!” So by 12 midday he would be released. “No other leader in Uitenhage ever enjoyed that kind of support!”

As vice president of Naawu he played a leading role in the unity talks that resulted in the formation of Cosatu in 1985 and later when 7 metalworkers combined to form Numsa in 1987.

His commitment to worker control and democracy was to be tested during the mid-1990s when Cosatu became part of the tri-partite alliance and had to deal with new government policies like its new economic policy GEAR that promised growth and employment. As Cosatu president, Gomomo famously responded that for workers GEAR meant putting the economy into ‘reverse GEAR!’

Even when he was elected to parliament on an ANC ticket in 1999, “he used to take on the ANC caucus,” says one time Numsa vice president, and now ANC MP Danny Oliphant. “He would take on the ANC leadership from the president right down to the ministers when issues weren’t addressed properly. He was not happy with the implementation of the labour laws.”

At the time of his death in January 2008 he was chairperson of the Portfolio on Public Service and Administration in parliament.

Adapted from an article  in Numsa News No 1 March 2008  Photo: William Matlala

The IV National Delegate Congress convened by Sintime was held in Chimoio, Mozambique 22-23 October 2007. Over fifty nine delegates and various national and international guests participated at the event.

Bro Mateus Filipe Muianga was elected General Secretary of SINTIME.  The new national office bearers include workers from the shop floor, one of whom is a woman, from strategic plants in Mozambique.

The congress provided a good platform to discuss many challenges facing workers and the union. The action plan approved in the last congress was not fully implemented during the period between May 2000 and May 2007 by former union office bearers and delegates were deeply concerned about the situation. They also noted lack of interaction between union structures and also between shop stewards and workers from different plants across the country.   Some delegates claimed never have seen union leadership visiting their provinces and providing them any assistance. They reported that in the last five years many workers have been retrenched without compensations from their employers. Workers in some companies have salaries in arrears. Although they do have union plant committees, those are very weak and fragmented with shop stewards not trained in union activities. The congress resolved to set up a shop stewards forum to enable shop stewards from different companies to meet every three months to interact themselves and share their experiences. The congress also resolved to set up an organizing department in the union.   

The congress resolved to set up within the union a department to deal with youth workers issues. It was indicated that a young worker from Mozal plant will be responsible for this department .He has participated in IMF training and also attended a health and safety workshop in Canada with the assistance of the IMF and Numsa.

Whilst the country has experienced economic growth in the last few years, this has not trickled down to workers and communities and poverty is still rife. HIV and AIDS prevalence also remain high and is one of the challenges facing workers and unions in the country. The current industrial minimum wage is just 1.443 meticais (USD 55.7) a month, which unions say cover only 50 per cent of the most basic needs of a worker and his or her family.   

Trade unions in Mozambique have been burdened by downsizings and redundancies. Since Mozambique’s first structural adjustment programmes, most of the country’s large state owned companies have been replaced by smaller private firms, which pose difficulties for unionization and the mediation of labour conflicts.  


New labour laws have been approved recently by Parliament but is not yet in force as it is still subject to correction before publications. The employers and unions reached consensus on most clauses in the bill, but the unions are still fighting to maintain favourable redundancy pay terms that are in the current legislation. Employers however claim that decent redundancy term affect their competitiveness and they want to make it much cheaper to fire workers.

OTM-CS, the biggest national centre in the country has encouraged unions to merge and form strong, democratic and self reliant unions.  However, former SINTIME leadership has not seriously engaged in discussions with other unions to merge. It is hoped that under new leadership, SINTIME will once again pursue a merger.

SEWUN IMF affiliates from Nigeria since 2005, is a product of a merger of 5 small unions since 2000, the union has not yet been able to concretely integrate the staff members and to consolidate the union structures. Presently, there are 45 staff members servicing 28 000 members. This ratio imbalance is problematic for the union in terms of the needs of workers. Some of the causes of the union’s problems include weak union structures, lack of coherent union strategy, lack of trained leadership and staff, unable to deal with new challenges and resistance by the old leadership to adapt to new realities. The effects of these problems are shown in low union membership, unsustainable union strategy, lack of resources to service members, lack of influence on the industry in the labour movement and  lack of perspective and action plan to build up the union.

The Nigerian government has recently passed laws that encourage the establishment of other national centres and unions. In June 2007, a strategic planning meeting was held in Lagos, Nigeria for SEWUN [Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria]. Key outcomes were the need for strong leadership and for SEWUN to organise and build strong structures to service members, or else the union might lose members to small and right wing unions. Other outcomes included the set up of a Constitutional Review Committee to look into the development and contribution of each sector within the union.

In October 2007 an evaluation meeting was arranged with NUMSA, IMF, Finnish Metall and SASK to assess how far SEWUN has progressed in terms of a project that had been established to assist SEWUN. However, representatives found SEWUN in crisis. Division amongst the leadership into two factions and the lack of trust, accountability and transparency lay at the core of the issue.  

IMF and NUMSA tried to assist the factions  to resolve the problems that had resulted in the division of the union and it was also necessary for the Registrar of Trade Unions to become involved.  

After much discussions an agreement emerged that provided space for the unanimous resolution of the crisis in  SEWUN with the following provisions:
1) The leadership that has been dismissed through the crisis should be re-instated.
2) All posts created during the crisis should be dissolved
3) There is agreement that there is only ONE Metal Sector within SEWUN
4) All resolutions reached by both parties in the wake of the crisis stand dissolved
5) All parties should work together, in true cooperation, for the improved growth of the union and to provide effective services for members

Some of the recommendations from NUMSA and the IMF that emerged from the meeting are as follows:
a) The unions should have weekly meetings because meetings are important to keep abreast of new developments within the union and even though not everybody will be available for weekly meetings, the meetings should be recorded [notes taken] so that people can have access to the proceedings.
b) The outcomes of these meetings must be conveyed to the IMF for progress purposes
c) Correspondence to the regional office must be done on a monthly basis
d) Communication between leadership needs to be improved
e) The Constitutional Review Committee process needs to be speeded up with resource, external experienced person  required to assist within this process by the IMF
f) All parties should be committed to the agreement and the resolutions need to be adopted with immediate effect

There was agreement between NUMSA, Finnish Metall, SASK and the IMF that the problems within SEWUN can, with hard work and commitment,  be solved and that the unity that the agreement provides for, is one that can be achieved.

Such factions in leadership does not serve the best interest of workers that can only benefit from strong united representation. it is hoped that this will be a lasting resolution that will serve to strengthen SEWUN for metalworkers in Nigeria

The regulation of the South African market is considered to be progressive with good organisational rights and recognition of the right to strike. There is support for majoritarianism and central bargaining and a regulatory framework for collective bargaining.

Despite this there has been a deterioration in organisation capacity in trade unions. this has been the result of several factors that are interrelated including the de-radicalisation of workers, declining membership, high cadre turnover and the failure of unions to adopt strategies to tackle new management techniques.

Before BHP Billiton took over Samancor there was a good organising environment marked by growth in membership. There were significant gains in worker rand organisation rights. there was an overarching universal framework around strategic policy and procedural issues with regard to transformation, restructuring, productivity and development. Whilst it was not without its own issues, there were effective participatory structures.
Then along came BHP Billiton that immediately began with its union bashing tactics. Under the flag of rationalisation, plants were closed and production transferred. This hit workers hard reducing workers at Ferrometals by half from 1200 to 600. Palmet Ferro Chrome was closed and Middlelburg permanent workers were reduced from about 700 to 500. This led to an increase in precarious work forms at the plants through the use of labour brokers and limited duration contract workers.

Workers doing precarious work for BHP Billiton outnumbers those in permanent employment. Alusaf Bayside has 1300 permanent workers and 1550 contract workers and Hillside has 1200 permanent and 800 contract. At Mozal in Mozambique there are 1250 permanent workers and 1800 contract workers.  

BHP Billiton has also dismantled participative structures and reintroduced unilateralism. they have divided workers by promoting union rivalry and establishing separate bargaining units for different categories of workers. The company has undermined health and safety and other working conditions by putting a price tag to these, using money to buy these rights from workers.

In seeking a way forward, workers of BHP Billiton and their trade unions need to develop organising strength through recruitment and internal cadre development. At a national level there needs to be campaigns targeting BHP Billiton for decent work and the respect for trade union and worker rights. We must also support through solidarity actions our comrades at BHP Billiton plants in other countries and voice demands for BHP Billiton to enter into an international framework agreement with IMF and ICEM for the benefit of BHP Billiton workers all over the world.

This article has been adapted from a presentation by NUMSA Representative Abraham Mathiebela

Last year, IMF affiliates in Africa recommended that special attention be given to the Chinese presence in various countries of Africa, with regard in particular to the impact of its fast growing trade and investments on development and on workers’ life.

In response, IMF held a workshop in June 2007 bringing together African affiliates, trade experts and IMF secretariat and regional staff to discuss the impact of Chinese trade and investment in Southern Africa. The workshop provided metalworkers unions, especially those in Southern Africa with an opportunity to learn from others, including trade unionists from Asia and Latin America, about the reality of China’s expansion  and discuss the fast growing Chinese presence in Africa and its impact on employment, workers’ rights and development. The meeting served as an opportunity for trade union leaders in the region to share their experiences and better understand an increasingly complex situation of foreign investments and trade that have direct repercussions on the working and living conditions of their members.
Main themes were the evolution of the Chinese presence in Africa; comparing trade union experiences of the growing protagonism of China in different areas of the world; Chinese companies in SADC countries; regional integration processes and South/South relations; Chinese loans to African countries. Presentation was also made by the Southern Africa Clothing and Textile Workers Union on their experience with Chinese investment in the clothing and textile sector. The comparison of trade union experiences in different sectors and countries proved very interesting and useful.

The discussions built on the participants’ concrete experiences and remained focused on the repercussions on workers jobs, employment conditions and  organising even when more abstract issues of macro-economic policies were addressed by the speakers.

The question of violations of fundamental human, workers and trade union rights in China and by Chinese investors abroad emerged as a major concern in all discussions. The interests and the development model that are clearly visible behind the various forms of Chinese presence in Africa were the subject of much of the debate throughout the programme.

Participants worked on building a trade union response to Chinese trade and investment that included national strategies for quality employment, renewed South-South and North-South solidarity and regional and international metalworkers’ campaign actions. The strategic importance of regional co-operation was addressed and the need for trade unions to play an active role in it was stressed.

Participants also agreed that the presence and influence of China in Africa needs to be kept under scrutiny and trade unions must interact with governments and have a say on the conditions for foreign investments as well as on their governments’ policies with regard to loans and aid and development projects. However the key and primary responsibility for IMF affiliates is at the national level, where their action must focus on the employment and working conditions at Chinese companies. Unions should ensure that workers employed by Chinese or other foreign investors are organised, in particular where jobs are precarious and laws are not respected.

 

Meeting the challenges of trade and interaction with China, India and the West, is at a key turning point right now. There are many threats and some strategic opportunities. To grab these opportunities in the interests of ordinary African people and not ruling elites as happened at the last turning point of independence there are some key prerequisites.

Firstly accountability of our own governments to us the people, regardless of institutional democratic form, must be enforced.
Secondly self importance in leadership must end as it divides leaders from their people. This issue of self importance extends into civil society and our trade union formations and it is here that the Big Man/Women syndrome must begin to die out. Heroes are good role models sometimes, but worshiping heroes gives all of people’s power and responsibility away, as it undermines our self-worth and reliance on collective action.

Then there is unity and self reliance. If Africa was united now it would be a superpower (yes a poor one) but one that could represent its own interests in dealing with China, India and the West. If Africa is to develop we must do it and nobody else. We understand historically what has led us to this point and how Africa has been systematically undermined, marginalized exploited and imprisoned by the interests of other nations often in the guise of assistance. The lesson should be clear development must come from within. No superpower, no matter who, can or will do this for us. This is a mindset that must change starting with small things and growing to how our governments interact with us and other states.
As links with China and India grow and the policy stranglehold of the west is loosened, civil society must take a powerful and central role in these developments. It is African civil society that must explore and engage in a spirit of unity of purpose with civil society in Asia. This is an essential power balance against the oligarchic tendencies that will always exist between Capital and ruling groups regardless of their intentions.

Our culture has to come to the front. This will be the single biggest step on the road to equality. Language is a key part of this. As Kwesi Kwaa Prah says, “it is not possible to develop Africa grounded in languages like English, French and Portuguese, or Arabic for that matter. Africans have to realise that the cultural base for development has to be their own. That is not to say they should not learn other languages, no, but they must make their languages the centre of all development efforts.”

If we do these things we will engage the world face to face in the interests of all African people.