Trade Unionists from Africa and Arab Regions Call for Solidarity

By GNA 

July 15, 2023

Unionists from Africa and Arab regions has reiterated the importance of union solidarity and collaboration to uphold workers’ rights, fight xenophobia, hate crimes, racism, and other attacks against migrants. 

They said union solidarity and collaboration will ensure fair recruitment practices for migrant workers, particularly dire situation faced by women migrant workers, especially, domestic workers, and migrants in an irregular situation.

They affirmed the urgency to contribute to reversing conditions that push people to migrate out of necessity rather than choice and expose them to human and labour rights violations.

Alongside decent work gaps in origin countries, inequalities, and poverty, the unionists highlighted the role of climate change and conflict as push factors and reiterated the importance of tripartite social dialogue to overcome these challenges.

A joint communique by the International Trade Union Confederation-Africa (ITUC-Africa) and Arab Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) at the just-ended meeting in Algiers, Algeria, called for continuous campaign to overcome adverse drivers of migration, including advocacy for deepening, and expanding democratic spaces and for universal social protection as well as advocacy to end conflicts.

The International Trade Union Confederation and the Just Transition Centre supported the meeting hosted by the General Union of Algerian Workers.

The meeting discussed ways in which unions could contribute to the achievement of rights-based migration governance that protects and fulfils migrant workers’ rights and contributes to sustainable development goals in both origin and destination countries.

Unionists from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, North Africa, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Middle East, and Algiers attended the two-day meeting.

The communique also makes the case for organising migrant workers into unions both in countries of origin and destination and provide them with services through Migrant Resource Centers.

It further advocated active participating in migration governance processes concerning their regions to ensure social dialogue in all policy discussions and decisions, such as the Arab States – Africa Labour Migration Conference expected to be held later in 2023 and the Abu Dhabi Dialogue.

They pledged to continue to work on fair recruitment practices through closer collaboration between unions in origin and destination countries, through expanding and utilising the Migrant Recruitment Advisor platform, monitoring the implementation of Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements and production of advocacy and awareness raising materials.

”We will continue advocating for Just Transition to address the effects of climate change on workers and communities, including a study on the effects of climate change on jobs and migration patterns in Africa and the Middle East,” the communiqué added.

The ITUC-Africa and ATUC have been working together on rights-based migration governance through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) they signed in 2018, along with other regional union organisations.

The MOU was renewed in June 2023, with the joining of ITUC in the office and the presence of the Director General of the International Labour Organisation, Mr. Gibert Houngbo.