Governments that ignore workers will fail —African labour leaders

In this Pan-African special report based on exclusive interviews with top African labour leaders at the sideline of ITUC-AFRICA 16th New Year School held in Lomé, Togo. CHRISTIAN APPOLOS presents their message to governments across Africa:

Comrade Africain Biraboneye, General Secretary of the Trade Union Centre of Workers of Rwanda (CESTRAR), set the tone with a truth so simple it is often ignored.

“When we represent workers, we are representing people who actively participate in national development: both in policy-making and in implementation,” he said.

It is a statement that cuts through technocratic language and confronts governments directly. Trade unions, he insists, are not external actors or inconvenient critics. They are society itself.

“Trade unions carry the voice of workers,” Biraboneye continued. “And that voice must be heard. Development must be people-centred.”

Yet, across much of the continent, that voice is either muted or managed. Policies are frequently designed in spaces where trade unions are excluded or brought in only at the final stages, long after key decisions have already been made. Consultation becomes a ritual. Inclusion becomes symbolic. Participation becomes a formality rather than a force.

For Comrade Omar Faruk Osman, General Secretary of the Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU), the consequences of this exclusion are not abstract; they are systemic and deeply felt.

“The greatest challenge facing workers in Africa today is a system that is not working for them,” he said, without hesitation. Then, with even greater clarity he said: “Across the board: the laws, the policies, the bureaucracy, the economy, the system is failing.

“It is a sweeping fact, but one grounded in lived realities across the continent. Institutions designed to protect citizens have, in many cases, become distant, unresponsive, and at times extractive. Africa is no longer in the era of political liberation,” Osman said.

“But the real emancipation of the people has not happened. That unfinished emancipation reveals itself everywhere: in low wages, insecure jobs, weak social protection systems, and economies that grow without creating meaningful opportunities. Growth without dignity. Expansion without inclusion.

“And in that widening gap, trade unions remain one of the last organised forces pushing back.

“In the face of power imbalances, corporate greed, and pressure to extract profit at the expense of people.” Osman said, “Trade unions serve as watchdogs, pressure groups, and equalising forces.”

Then came the warning that echoed across conversations:  “Without trade unions at the table, things fall apart.”

From Southern Africa, Comrade Mahongora Kavihuha, General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), extended the argument beyond labour rights to the very legitimacy of governance itself.

“When you engage trade unions, you are engaging the masses,” he said. “No meaningful development or transformation happens without the grassroots.”

Yet, he observed, many governments continue to operate in isolation, designing policies that reflect external pressures more than domestic realities.

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“Policies are not developed from the bottom up,” he said. “They are imposed.” “And imposed policies,” he warned, rarely succeed. “If people do not understand or own policies, implementation becomes a problem. Legitimacy starts at home, not outside.”

The consequences of exclusion are perhaps most visible in critical economic decision-making spaces. As Comrade Tshepiso M. Mbereki, Secretary General of the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU), pointed to a glaring omission.

“Trade unions are often excluded from key processes such as trade negotiations and foreign direct investment discussions and many other important decisions that shape entire economies,” she said.

“These are not marginal issues. They determine job quality, national revenue, industrial direction, and long-term prosperity.

“They directly affect workers,” he added. “So, why are trade unions not at the table?”

For many labour leaders, the answer lies in discomfort. Trade unions question. They demand accountability. They mobilise. And for some governments, that makes them inconvenient.

But for Comrade John Odah, Executive Secretary of the Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA), that perception is both flawed and dangerous.

“Trade unions are not troublemakers,” he said. “They are partners in governance and development.”

At the core of his argument is a principle that should be self-evident but is too often ignored: those who create wealth must benefit from it. “Workers are central to the production process,” he explained. “If they are excluded from the value they create, inequality will persist.”

He traced this imbalance to deeper structural distortions: economic systems that continue to reflect colonial patterns, where Africa exports raw materials and imports finished goods at higher costs.

“For transformation to happen, value addition must take place within Africa,” he said. “That is how you create jobs and ensure fairness.”

From Zambia, Comrade Joy Beene, Secretary General of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), reinforced the historical and ongoing relevance of the labour movement.

“The labour movement cannot be removed from the equation of national development,”

“From independence struggles to democratic transitions, trade unions have played defining roles in shaping African societies. But their relevance is not confined to history, it is urgent and ongoing.

“You cannot talk about economic growth without talking about the conditions under which people work,” he added.

For Beene, growth must be measured not only in GDP figures, but in lived realities: fair wages, safe working conditions, and meaningful social protection.

From Nigeria, the Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Nuhu Toro, brought the continental argument into sharp national focus, highlighting a recurring pattern of engagement without sincerity.

“A win-win situation requires good faith,” he said. “But when decisions are already made before engagement, that reflects bad faith.”

The issue, he suggests, is not the absence of dialogue but the quality of it.

“The government has often been insincere in its dealings with workers,” he added.

Even when policies appear sound in theory, their implementation often tells a different story.

“Take subsidy removal in Nigeria, for instance,” Toro said. “In theory, it is not a bad policy. But in practice, it is often distorted, benefiting a few at the expense of many.”

“Without transparency and accountability, such policies risk deepening inequality rather than resolving it; widening the very gaps they are meant to close.

Yet even within the labour movement, there is recognition that the struggle is not one-sided. There are internal challenges, real and pressing.

Osman again acknowledged this with candour. Trade unions across Africa face constraints: declining membership in some sectors, limited resources, and structural weaknesses that affect their reach and influence.

“We cannot expect strong victories without strong support,” he said. “And yet, there is movement. Gradual, uneven, but real.

Where we were years ago is not where we are today,” he noted. “We are moving forward. That progress, however, comes with responsibility on both sides. Workers must remain engaged. Trade unions must deliver. And both must hold each other accountable.

“Progress is not only about wages. It is about building credibility and showing relevance.”  Osman noted.

At the centre of all these voices is one demand that cuts across countries, sectors, and ideologies: genuine social dialogue. Not dialogue as ritual. Not consultation as a checkbox. But engagement that is real, inclusive, and consequential.

“Social dialogue must be genuine,” Biraboneye insisted. “It must lead to meaningful change. Because without trust, dialogue collapses. And without dialogue, governance becomes disconnected, detached from the very people it is meant to serve.

However, amid the frustrations, something else is quietly taking shape: a growing sense of continental solidarity.

Across Africa, trade unions are aligning, collaborating, and speaking with increasing coherence. Through the ITUC-Africa platform, they are engaging on issues that transcend borders: debt, climate justice, inequality, economic reform, AfCFTA, social justice, etc.

For Comrade Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, former General Secretary of ITUC-Africa, this convergence is both necessary and inevitable.

“Trade unions are essential for democracy, social justice, and development,” he said.

But he also issued a challenge, one directed inward. “They must assert themselves. They cannot wait to be invited.” Influence, he suggests, must be built, through persistence, expertise, and strategic engagement.

And in the clearest articulation of both warning and possibility, Osman delivered words that capture the stakes for the continent: “Trade unions are not asking to take over governance. They are asking to be part of it. As Africa navigates an increasingly complex economic and political future,will governments finally listen or continue to govern without the very people they claim to serve?

“You cannot achieve peace when workers are suffering. You cannot achieve prosperity amid injustice. And you cannot achieve stability without social dialogue.”