Unions in Ghana push African industrialization agenda

As part of the Africa Industrialization Day commemorations, IndustriALL affiliates in Ghana convened an industrialization forum on 12 November to discuss the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in promoting industrialization in the country and the African continent.

The forum, attended by 30 participants, also discussed the trade agreements that Ghana has signed with other countries including the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.

On the factors impeding industrialization, the forum mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic, illicit financial flows, the exporting of primary products with no value addition, and corruption. Limited access to financial resources meant that small to medium scale enterprises did not grow. Some investments also created precarious working conditions. The uptake of manufacturing technologies and the adoption of artificial intelligence is slow. Further, trade unions were not consulted during policy formulation and implementation. For example, unions were not consulted on AfCFTA.

Some of the recommendations from the forum is that unions should carry out capacity building training to enhance knowledge on trade policy issues. This training is important for union engagement in industrial and trade policy processes which are key to the industrialization of Ghana and other African countries. Further, mobilization that involves awareness campaigns and advocacy on industrialization are needed to promote industrialization in the country and trade unions should prioritize the issue during social dialogue.

Solomon Kotei, chairperson of the Ghana IndustriALL Liaison Council said:

“Industrialization and trade policies are complementary and important for Africa to truly industrialize. Governments must make efforts towards a national industrialization agenda that includes using trade finance as a catalyst. Further, Ghana needs to ascertain its comparative advantage on locally manufactured products to counter-balance its imports. Import substitution can ignite industrialization. We also need sustainable trade policies because trade liberalization from the West hampers African industrialization.”

Kemal Ozkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

“Sustainable industrial and trade policies are crucial to industrialization efforts in Ghana. This entails policies that support economic integration of regional economic communities like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the coordination of intra-African trade. Africa should also benefit from being part of global value chains as equal partners and exporting industries should provide decent work and avoid low wage models that impoverish workers.”

IndustriALL affiliates in Ghana: Industrial & Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) Ghana, Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU), General Transport Petroleum Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU), Public Utility Workers’ Union (PUWU).

Uganda unions engage social partners on African industrialization strategies

On 10 November six IndustriALL affiliates in Uganda organized a conference that was attended by 80 participants, including key social partners, to discuss strategies for the economic development of the country and how this links to the industrialization of the continent through the integration of regional economic communities.

The unions agreed that the country’s third National Development Plan (2020-2025) is an important policy document for Uganda’s industrialization, and that unions must ensure its implementation. The plan promotes value addition in the mining, oil and gas and other sectors as well as employment creation. The unions emphasized that industrialization must bring decent jobs and that workers’ rights must be respected. The meeting also called on the country to ratify International Labour Organization Convention 190 on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work.

Further, living wages and ending precarious work should be considered in the implementation. While investments in industrial development should also bring new skills to the workers. The government should also build more export processing zones for the textile, garment, leather, and shoe sector which can create more jobs for Ugandans along the value chain. Small to medium scale industries should also be supported.

At the meeting were Members of Parliament representing workers, government officials, business organizations, and trade union leaders. The trade union federations present were National Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU) and Central Organization of Free Trade Unions (COFTU). Civil society organizations, employer organizations, and experts also attended the conference.

The five Members of Parliament for workers promised to take the industrialization debate to parliament. Uganda’s constitution allows for the election of MPs to represent workers.

Speaking at the conference, Hajji Twaha Sempebwa, chairperson of the IndustriALL Coordinating Council for Uganda said:

“Industrialization is key to the development of Sub Saharan African countries including Uganda as it creates opportunities for decent jobs. However, we should ensure that workers’ rights and decent work are part of the agenda. Our governments have taken great strides to ensure success, but there is still a lot to be done to overcome the challenges in implementation especially under the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

“We applaud the Ugandan IndustriALL affiliates for bringing the social partners together to discuss the industrialization of Africa. Sustainable industrial policymaking should be inclusive and be done through social dialogue. Further, industrialization is important as it creates decent manufacturing jobs that will reduce the high levels of unemployment and end poverty.”

IndustriALL affiliates in Uganda are the Uganda Textiles, Garment, Leather and Allied Workers’ Union (UTGLAWU), Uganda Hotels, Food, Tourism, Supermarkets & Allied Workers’ Union (HTS-Union), Uganda Chemical, Petroleum, and Allied Workers’ Union (UCPAWU), National Union of Clerical, Commercial, Professional and Technical Employees, (NUCCPTE), and Uganda Mines, Metal, Oil, Gas & Allied Workers’ Union (UMMOGAWU) and Uganda Printers, Paper, Polyfibre and Allied Workers’ Union (UPPPAWU).

Union launches app for organizing Kenyan metalworkers

To join the union, members must download the app on their smartphones, provide their name and identity, as well as the sector where they currently work. The app, which was launched with support from the Solidarity Centre, allows the members to pay union dues using mobile money platforms.

With Covid-19 regulations that restrict large face-to-face union meetings in place, using online platforms is becoming the norm for the Kenyan metalworkers, who organize workers in the automotive sector, steel and metal manufacturing and other sectors. The union is also using online campaigns to end precarious work in the sectors especially the low wages and poor benefits for contract workers.

The AUKMW signed memoranda of understanding in 2019 with associations of roadside mechanics who represent thousands of informal workers. The agreements allow the union to represent the informal workers and to protect their rights according to the labour laws. The informal sector provides vehicle accessories, spare parts and repairs and maintenance for mostly imported used cars from Japan, Korea, and other countries. The mobile app increases the union’s accessibility to informal workers.

By working with informal worker associations, the AUKMW is responding to the “decent work deficit” as described by the International Labour Conference Recommendation 204 Transition from the Informal to the formal economy. The recommendation covers freedom of association, social dialogue, role of employers and workers organizations, and minimum wages, among issues that needs to be looked at to improve the working conditions of informal workers.

Rose Omamo, AUKMW general secretary says:

“Organizing at the big companies is not the same as at the small workplaces. At large factories we reach the required thresholds, according to the labour laws, and sign collective bargaining agreements. But at small companies that are located far away from the cities, we have fewer members that we still need to service them and give them access to union services.
"We are also extending our services to contract workers and those working in the informal sector who often work under precarious conditions. These are the workers who will benefit most from the app.”

Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa, says:

“The pandemic is making unions innovative and providing them with an opportunity to adopt digital technologies. Recruitment, organizing, campaigns and training now happens online using devices that include smartphones and laptops. Such innovation is commendable and transforms the trade union. The AUKMW is one of the pioneers of harnessing digital technologies to build union power.”

Unions in solidarity with youth protests to stop police brutality in Nigeria

After weeks of protesting widespread abuses and gross human rights violations, including torture and killings, by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unite, the government of Nigeria disbanded the unit on 11 October. But this did not stop the demonstrations.

The protests have received support from Manchester United football player Idion Ighalo who posted a video on social media saying he is ‘ashamed’ of the government of Nigeria’s sending of soldiers to shoot at protestors at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos.

Tolulope Fagbamigbe, a member of the IndustriALL Sub Saharan Africa youth committee from the National Union of Chemical Footwear Rubber and Non Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE) says:

“The Nigerian youth are clamouring for their voices to be heard by the government on #EndSARS and other demands. On 20 October, the lights went off at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos when soldiers moved in with armoured trucks and opened fire on unarmed protestors, killing many people on the spot.
"The situation has been handled carelessly by the government and is boiling over. If the government wants to nip the situation in the bud they must proceed with steps towards progressive goals. If this is not done, there are fears the situation will degenerate into further chaos.”

IndustriALL Vice President, Issa Aremu said:

“It is understandable that the current protests reflect the serial historic and contemporary atrocities by the Nigerian police. It is inspiring that the Presidential Panel on Police Reforms agreed to the five-point demand of the protestors against police brutality, namely halting the use of force against protestors and unconditional release of arrested citizens, justice for the victims of police brutality, including payment of compensation, and the psychological evaluation of police officers including increasing their salaries.”

On employment, the situation of Nigerian youth is dire. According to the National Bureau of Statistics the unemployment rate is over 27 per cent, meaning 27.7 million youth are unemployed while the underemployment rate is over 28 per cent. Unemployment has been worsened by the closure of factories. To move to decent job creation, Aremu says unions must campaign for a “developmental state that creates decent jobs for the youth.”

IndustriALL affiliates in Nigeria are the Automobile, Boatyards, Transport, Equipment and Allied Workers Union (AUTOBATE), National Union of Chemical Footwear Rubber and Non Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Union of Textile Garment Tailoring Workers (NUTGTW), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and Steel and Engineering Workers of Nigeria (SEWUN).

Unions not consulted on Chevron Nigeria plans to lay-off 1,000 workers

The unions say Chevron’s failure to consult is part of the company’s “anti-labour practices” that are aimed at laying off 600 permanent and 400 contract workers in violation of Nigerian labour laws. Consultation would allow unions to understand why such a drastic decision was made and also gives them the opportunity to suggest alternatives to the lay-offs.

Ofolabi Olawale, NUPENG general secretary and Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN general secretary wrote in a letter to the company on 2 October:

“It is so disconcerting to receive the news that management has commenced the process to sack about 600 regular employees of Chevron Nigeria Limited without any form of engagement or discussion with the leadership of NUPENG and PENGASSAN. Such action is nothing but violation of the existing labour laws concerning disengagement of employees and a clear affront on the union and association.”

Further, the unions say Chevron has been involved in unfair labour practices that include failure to carry over leave days from 2018 into the current contracts. The company also owes workers money after excessive deductions were made to terminal benefits in 2012.

The unions propose that there should be immediate consultations on the lay-offs, that negotiations for collective bargaining agreements should begin, and that NUPENG workers who have attained new qualifications should be promoted. Stagnation of workers for 5-11 years is unfair and should be reversed. Contract workers should also be allowed to ride on the company buses and workers working from home should be given data and ergonomic allowances.

Okugbawa said: “The bone of contention is on the modalities of the exit. While the management want redundancy; the unions want the process to be voluntary. We are also not convinced about the numbers being proposed by the Chevron management. They want 25 per cent of the workers to be laid off.”

Diana Junquera Curiel, IndustriALL director of the energy industry said:

“We call upon Chevron Nigeria to engage with the unions. To build better industrial relations oil companies must consult unions on lay-offs instead of making unilateral decisions. It is important for labour practices to be fair to the workers and this can only be reached through negotiations with the unions.”

Photo: Roo Reynolds

Union federations unite in South African national strike

The national strike, on 7 October, which coincided with World Day for Decent Work, was called by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) with support from the other main federations: the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA), the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), and the National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU).

IndustriALL Global Union’s five affiliates in South Africa belong to three of the federations. The combined membership of the federations represents millions of workers. The unions say the law should be used to deal with corruption through prosecution, and anti-corruption strategies should be put in place.

The unions wanted an end to gender-based violence and for the government to ratify Convention 190 on curbing violence and harassment at work, and to develop an implementation plan. The gender pay gap must also be closed.

On health and safety, unions want employers to comply with labour laws and not leave the burden on workers and their families.

Petitions presented by the unions called upon the government to act on preventing retrenchments of workers after over two million jobs were lost during the country’s Covid-19 lockdown which began in March. The retrenchments, which were high in sectors such as mining, added to the already high unemployment levels. According to Statistics South Africa, the expanded rate of unemployment is 42 per cent, which includes those who have given up looking for jobs.

The unions say there is an attack on collective bargaining and demand that sections of the labour laws must be amended to force employers to comply. Additionally, employers were not promoting social dialogue but are instead ignoring labour laws and existing agreements.

Joseph Montisetse, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), said unions were shocked “by corruption involving the Unemployment Insurance Fund Temporary Employer/employee Relief Scheme which were meant to benefit retrenched workers and also those employers who were in financial problems because of Covid-19.” Some employers claimed Covid-19 relief funds but did not pay them out to workers and have since been arrested for fraud.

Irvin Jim, the general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) said: “Employers did not waste the crisis imposed by Covid-19 and the lockdown, which they used to attack workers’ wages by unilaterally imposing wage cuts of between 20-25 per cent without consulting with the union.” But the unions are fighting back.

As part of the national strike, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) picketed outside the offices of garment retailer Cape Union Mart in Johannesburg, demanding that the employer respect signed collective bargaining agreements and stop using threats and intimidation to force workers to sign new contracts that are inferior to existing ones.

André Kriel, SACTWU general secretary said:

“The COSATU strike is significant because it is unifying. It confirms concretely that all South African workers, irrespective of union federation affiliation, are crystal clear about common core issues which they must fight in the current conjuncture: corruption in the public and private sector, job losses, attacks on collective bargaining and gender-based violence”.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches said:

“We are in solidarity with the millions of South African workers who are fighting for jobs, against gender-based violence, and for the protection of collective bargaining. These are issues at the core of union activities, and employers should not be allowed to destroy what the union has gained through years of struggle.”

Young workers organizing drives in Ghana show strength of solidarity

IndustriALL Global Union Sub Saharan Africa region and Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) Africa and Middle East affiliates carried out joint organizing activities at workplaces in Ahafo, Kumasi, Obuasi, and Sunyani from 28 September to 2 October.

The affiliates are the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU), General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU), Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), and Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) – together with the Timber Workers Union that is affiliated to BWI.

The joint organizing drives aim to increase union membership through sharing ideas, strategies, and experiences on how to build union power.

In August, the unions held workshops on developing capacity for social dialogue in the prevention and management of Covid-19 at the workplace, and on how to improve the participation of youth and women in union activities. Often women and the youth are marginalized. Yet they are the solution for rebuilding trade unions.

The joint organizing activities are supported by Industri Energi, a Norwegian trade union for workers in the industrial and energy sectors. Industri Energi has been supporting a lot more collaborative work between IndustriALL and BWI to build collective union power from sharing skills, knowledge, and ideas for improving the organizing and mobilization of workers.

The nine organizers, including six young workers, were drawn from participants who attended online training on organizing.

Agness Ayittey from GMWU, chairperson of the IndustriALL affiliates youth committee in Ghana, who is one of the organizers said:

“The emerging issues from the organizing drives include union busting by some employers who are stopping workers from joining the union, not paying living wages, and ignoring health and safety standards.”

Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa said:

“Global unions are working together on Covid-19 responses because workers are adversely affected by the coronavirus irrespective of the sectors where they work. We hope that by working together, union solidarity will be strengthened in Ghana.”

Crecentia Mofokeng, BWI regional representative for Africa and Middle East said:

“We are satisfied that BWI and IndustriALL affiliates in Ghana are jointly engaging employers and government on social dialogue for better working conditions and wages in most industrial sectors. They have developed more joint actions on training and organizing because issues and challenges are the same across the sectors.”

A youth activist school planned for November will focus on trade unions and activism in the community and will establish a youth activists’ network for the unions in Ghana.

Ugandan oil and gas fields provide potential for union organizing

On 24 September, French oil company Total signed an agreement with the government of Uganda for the construction of the over 1,440 km East African Crude Oil Pipeline from Kabaale to Tanga in Tanzania.

With 13,000 jobs expected in the construction phase and 3,000 in the operational phase, the Uganda Mines Metal Oil and Gas and Allied Workers Union (UMMOGAWU) sees opportunities for the economic development of the country and an end to poverty. UMMOGAWU wants to recruit, and organize new members in the sector.

Vincent Ojiambo, UMMOGAWU general secretary, says:

“As the construction of the pipeline begins, our organizers will visit the sites to recruit more members to the union. We want better working conditions and living wages for the workers.”

The Lake Albert Basin holds some of the biggest oil and gas reserves in Sub Saharan Africa with potential to stimulate economic development and create thousands of decent jobs on the supply chain.

The oil and gas reserves are estimated to have over six billion barrels of oil, and 500 billion cubic feet of gas, and it is projected that the production of crude oil will start in 2023. Once production begins other petroleum based and electricity generating industries as well as providers of goods and services will be off shoots from the oil and gas sector. It is expected that these industries will provide services and manufactured goods for the domestic market as well as to neighbouring countries.

Diana Junquera Curiel, IndustriALL director for the energy industry, says:

“The growth of the oil and gas sector should be beneficial to Ugandan workers, and oil companies should use global best practices to ensure that they contribute to sustainable development in the country. IndustriALL has a GFA with TOTAL that will cover workers in Uganda and ensure that their labour rights are respected.”

Civil society organizations are calling upon the governments of Uganda and Tanzania to ensure the respect of the human rights of the 12,000 people and communities displaced by the pipeline route and who may have lost their land. Consideration should also be given to the environment.

The governments of Uganda and Tanzania have also signed an agreement to facilitate the construction. Other oil companies that are part of the joint venture in the oil fields are Tullow Oil and CNOCC. The companies have invested over three billion dollars in the oil and gas sector. There are also plans to build a refinery by the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium.

We will not be silent on state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe, say South African metalworkers

NUMSA, which is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, organized a picket at the Zimbabwean Embassy in Pretoria, 23 September, to protest workers and human rights’ abuses in the country. The picket is a response to the International Day of Action called by ITUC-Africa to protest labour and human rights violations in Zimbabwe.

The union was joined at the picket by civil society organizations that are protesting the violations using the online campaign #ZimbabweanLivesMatter that is highlighting the abuses and has received global support. The online campaign emerged after social media became one of the only ways to protest after the government of Zimbabwe banned demonstrations against Covid-19 procurement corruption and the deteriorating social and economic crisis in the country that were planned for 31 July.

Unemployment is high and wages for most workers are only US $30 per month, meaning that workers are living in poverty. When Zimbabwean unions campaigned for living wages to protect workers’ wages against the low wages and hyperinflation, which is over 800 per cent, they were labelled “terrorist organizations.”

According to the UN World Food Programme, over eight million people need emergency relief support to avoid starvation.

Activists, students, journalists, and the organizers of the 31 July demonstration were arrested, abducted and tortured, charged in the courts with trying to overthrow the government and accused of “inciting violence” or disregarding Covid-19 regulations. The demonstrations were stifled by a heavy police and army presence and the few who took placards out to the streets were arrested.

Booker prize nominee for 2020, Tsitsi Dangarembga, whose novel This Mournable Body has been shortlisted, was also arrested for “inciting violence” and “bigotry.”

NUMSA demands include that the African Union must investigate the human rights violations and hold the government accountable. Further, the judiciary must be independent, and freedom of association respected. Media freedoms should also be respected and charges against journalists and other political prisoners withdrawn.

Andrew Chirwa, NUMSA president said:

“Instead of addressing the crisis, the Zimbabwean government has responded with brutality and repression. The country is in the grip of state-sponsored violence against its people. We demand workers’ freedom to participate in activities of any trade unions of their choice and that their right to strike be protected.”

Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa said:

“We call upon the government of Zimbabwe to respect international labour standards. Trade unions play an important role in improving the welfare of workers and working class communities, but they can only do so when their freedoms and rights are respected.”

IndustriALL’s 10 affiliates in Zimbabwe, that organize in the chemical and plastics, energy, engineering, metal, mining, manufacturing, and textile, garment shoe and leather sectors, welcomed the support from NUMSA which they said strengthened not only international solidarity, but their resolve to continue fighting for workers’ and human rights.

Unions call for rapid and sustainable industrialization of Africa

The United Nations marks 20 November as Africa Industrialization Day, saying that “the success of Africa’s industrialization programme will require the creation of enabling environment.” Unions insist that this requires the participation of the whole of society, particularly workers and trade unions.

IndustriALL and its affiliates in the region have consistently campaigned for the rapid industrialization and sustainable development of the continent and individual countries through various events, actions and activities.

Issa Aremu, IndustriALL vice president for the region said:

“Local level engagement on industrial policies is key, and trade unions should include sustainable industrial policies in their everyday work and also fight for beneficiation of industrial raw materials such as oil and minerals.”

The think tank, held on September 9, is part of a series of activities in preparation for Africa Industrialization Week, which runs from 17-23 November, after the Virtual Youth and Industrialization Conference on July 31.

The expert report discussed in the meeting outlined that “if proper institutions are set up at national level to support the implementation of the AfCFTA; then there is potential to address obstacles that African countries face in global production and trade systems.” The report also shows that the shocks that Covid-19 brought to African economies include reduced trade with China, Africa’s biggest trading partner. But domestic industries have manufacturing capacity, as recently seen in the production of Covid-19 supplies including hand sanitizers, gloves, masks, liquid soap, and ventilators.

The participants discussed the role of intergovernmental institutions, particularly the African Union (AU), in promoting faster industrialization through programmes, including the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA) programme that falls under the Agenda 2063 plan that promotes regional integration.

One of the plan’s flagship projects is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which became operational in 2019 with a secretariat in Ghana. The AfCFTA is expected to boost intra-African trade and create thousands of jobs.

The African Development Bank was also highlighted as an institution where IndustriALL and its affiliates should seek policy development and concrete implementation for industrialization.

The think tank decided to take interact directly with these institutions to raise workers’ demands for a fairer economy.

The meeting also discussed union demands on sustainable mining as proposed in the African Mining Vision (AMV). “Minerals should be linked to greater sustainable socio-economic development through fiscal and economic linkages that are at the heart of the AMV,” said IndustriALL mining director Glen Mpufane.

“Sustainable mining means the existence of public policies that promote the use of mineral resources for economic and social development, and to avert the worst impacts on the environment through strict regulations,” added Brian Kohler, director for health, safety and sustainability.

The think tank coincides with a global debate on the transformation of economies, reconfiguration of international production and reshaping of global supply chains. The participants underlined the importance of a shift to sustainable economic development policies, especially after the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“As part of the Africa Industrialization campaign, over the next two months, we will continue to take action at regional and country level in Africa. We will continue to highlight the important role that unions can and should play to influence policy engagement at national and regional levels”.

Following a series of actions, the campaign programme for 2020 will have a virtual event on November 20 for voicing unions’ demands.