ITUC-Africa and LRS hosted a media conference in Kenya in June, highlighting trade union demands on the AfCFTA.
Akhator Joel Odigie, General Secretary of the African Regional Organization of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) says social dialogue is key to making trade under the AfCFTA inclusive and just.
ITUC-Africa and LRS, supported by SASK, are building the capacity of trade unions to influence the development of the AfCFTA.
Akhator Joel Odigie, General Secretary of ITUC-Africa
What are ITUC-Africa’s ambitions for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)?
Our ambition is both continental and worker-focused. The AfCFTA is the world’s largest trade agreement by population. It gives Africa an opportunity to correct the abnormal situation of trading very little with itself. Our interest in the AfCFTA is about ensuring decent work and inclusive and just trade. We want governments to understand they need each other. Africa’s economy is still marginal globally. The AfCFTA can help change that if we prioritise intra-African trade. Trade must serve development first. This means investing in infrastructure to ease the movement of goods, services, and people. We are also interested in what trade can deliver for workers. A good trade agreement should create more production possibilities, more jobs, and better incomes. It should help continental integration by removing colonial-era barriers.
How does ITUC-Africa see the role of social dialogue in trade policy?
Trade policy must protect workers’ health, safety, and rights. When the AfCFTA was conceived, there was little appetite to include workers’ voices. Governments often see trade only from their own portfolios and forget that trade is about workers. The people who produce, transport, and load goods are at the heart of trade.
We want to see women and young people empowered through trade. Africa will remain youthful for the next three decades. If managed well, the youth bulge can be a blessing, not a burden. Trade must support lifelong learning, skills development, and decent jobs.
We advocate for workers’ rights to be embedded in every AfCFTA protocol. We demand a stand-alone labour protocol. The protocol must guarantee freedom of association and collective bargaining. It must ensure robust labour inspection and enforcement. It must regulate digitalisation and e-commerce impacts. It must promote investment in skills and lifelong learning. Trade unions must participate in AfCFTA National Implementation Committees.
Labour provisions for the AfCFTA framework must be grounded in international labour standards and protocols, such as the ILO core conventions, the Decent Work Agenda, ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for Fair Globalisation, and Agenda 2063. Implementation of these provisions should rely on tripartite institutional mechanisms and social dialogue. Such a collaborative framework is necessary, given trade liberalisation’s negative effects on job numbers, employment quality, and trade union vitality in Africa. Ultimately, strong and effective labour provisions are indispensable for realising the full ambitions of the AfCFTA Prince Asafu-Adjaye, LRS, 2025. Labour Provisions for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Some Policy Options,
Share examples where social dialogue around the AfCFTA has worked.
The Nigerian Labour Congress and manufacturing associations pushed back when the government moved to sign the AfCFTA without consultation. They demanded dialogue, raised concerns, and secured space to contribute. Their inputs were incorporated into the agreement before Nigeria signed. There is a growing understanding that trade unions are not adversaries but partners.
In Namibia, the government recognised the role of trade unions in the AfCFTA National Implementation Committee. The Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA) and ITUC-Africa met with the Minister of Trade in November, who immediately instructed her officials to include unions in the committee. TUCNA has two representatives on the Namibia AfCFTA National Implementation Committee.
The Rwanda Workers’ Trade Union Confederation (CESTRAR) has two seats on the AfCFTA National Implementation Committee, after sustained advocacy on inclusion in trade dialogue mechanisms and trade policy. AfCFTA negotiations.
In Kenya, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU-K) and ITUC-Africa met with the Cabinet Secretary for Trade, who gave a commitment to include unions in the AfCFTA National Implementation Committee, agreeing that workers’ voices are essential if trade is to benefit citizens.
We are also prioritising Ghana, where the AfCFTA Secretariat is based, as well as Togo, where ITUC-Africa is headquartered.
What is your message to African governments on AfCFTA?
First, governments need to move beyond narrow concepts of sovereignty and embrace collective value. Too often, African states hold tightly to sovereignty at the expense of regional cooperation. The European Union demonstrates how shared values and collaboration can unite countries for mutual benefit. For the AfCFTA to succeed, Africa should adopt a similar approach and prioritise unity and cooperation to achieve shared prosperity.
Second, governments should view trade as a powerful instrument for continental transformation. Rather than acting alone, progressive states need to build coalitions and align their efforts for greater impact. Cooperation should be rooted in comparative advantage, leveraging each country’s strengths, such as Kenya and Ethiopia in floriculture, South Africa and Zimbabwe in agriculture, and Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana in cocoa production.
Third, wages matter. Without decent wages, there is no purchasing power, no disposable income, and no consumption. Trade growth depends on people’s ability to buy what is produced. Governments must take wages seriously if they want trade to drive development.
Finally, we need better trade facilitation and payment systems to make cross-border transactions easier and cheaper.
Infographic: Five trade union demands for the AfCFTA
