The streets, the people and government of Zambia witnessed a firsthand display of unity of purpose in action among the 17 million working men and women from 52 African countries affiliated to the African Regional Organisation of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), represented by their union leaders. Step by step the solidarity movement hit the streets of Lusaka and the resolve to engage governments and stakeholders on the issues that affect workers and the African people started, writes CHRISTIAN APPOLOS.
Although the atmosphere was filled with the feeling of solidarity from the first day of the African Regional Organisation of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa’s) New Year School programme on March 18, however, the inclusion of “organising and inter-union collaboration and unity” as one of the thematic issues for discussion in the “education for action” of the school’s programme was a signal that something good and greater will come out of the Lusaka convergence of African trade unions.
The announcement of a rally on the streets of Lusaka, Zambia against illicit financial flows from Africa to the western world, the implications of debt crisis and borrowings of African nations and tax heavens awarded to multinational companies came and further sparked the feeling of comradeship, solidarity and unity of purpose among the participants, who had already received so much admonition on the advantages of collaboration and unity among trade unions at the continental, national and local levels.
Little by little, like small stones that caused a great avalanche for a greater good, the gathering began on the d-day, March 21, at the Garden Corner Chilulu, Lusaka. The ire feeling members of trade unions from different African countries arrived in buses from Mika Convention, the venue of the ongoing New Year School.
The procession was joined by members of the Zambian Congress of Trade Union in droves, university and secondary school students in large numbers, army and police bands, the Zambia Debt Alliance, the Stop the Bleeding Campaign, CSOs, churches, passersby and citizens of Zambia. It was indeed a gathering of African people, in a unity of purpose for the common good of the country and motherland.
It was peaceful and a long walk to the Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia (ACSZ), with placards with such inscriptions as “The global financial system works against Africa, restructure it,” “Debt relief: Fairness for African citizens,” “Public debt takes away money for health,” “Lower the cost of sovereign borrowing for countries at risk debt distress,” “Drop the debt; Africa can’t breathe,” “Unsustainable debt disproportionately hurt women and girls,” “More debt, more taxes, more inequalities,” “We demand debt relief for Africa’s development.”
At the ACSZ, where the crowd met and delivered their demands to the Zambian government, represented by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, members of diplomatic corps, representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The president of the ITUC-Africa, Comrade Martha Molema, said, “Our demands are clear and our resolve unwavering as we stand in solidarity with workers, vulnerable citizenry and communities affected by the burdens of debt, inequitable trade policies and the climate crisis.
“The current plight of African and Zambian workers, exacerbated by the weight of national debt and a broken global financial architecture, cannot be understated. The burden of debt on African workers and citizens perpetuates poverty, exacerbates inequality and hinders access to essential services, while undermining economic development and perpetuating cycles of dependency.
“The global financial rules are rigged and skewed against Africa and most economies in the global south. At the core of our struggle lie the insidious practices of illicit financial flows (IFFs) that siphon off rightful earnings through tax evasion and avoidance, perpetuating poverty and inequality among our people. The policies enforced by international financial institutions such as the World Bank often exacerbate our debt burden, prioritising structural adjustments that further marginalise workers and vulnerable segments of society.
“Privatisation of public services and state-owned enterprises, championed by powerful private players and supported by these institutions, only serves to commodify human dignity and exacerbate inequality. Women, who bear the brunt of unpaid care work and are disproportionately affected by regressive tax policies, are forced into unsustainable debt cycles as basic services become inaccessible.
“We demand immediate action: advocate for structural reforms addressing the root causes of Zambia and other African countries’ debt crisis, including transparency, accountability and fairness in labour practices and fiscal policies; demand that multinational corporations headquartered in their respective countries to refrain from wage evasion, unfair tax practices and exploitative resource management in favour of equitable and sustainable practices; advocate for a restructuring of the global financial architecture to prioritise the rights and needs of workers over the interests of powerful financial institutions and multinational corporations; support the call for the establishment of a UN tax convention that will help to improve the governance of global tax administration in a more transparent, inclusive, democratic, effective and fair manners.
“We call upon the diplomatic community to advocate for structural reforms, transparency and accountability in fiscal policies and labour practices. Multinational corporations must adhere to national laws, pay fair taxes and observe ethical business practices for the benefit of all citizens. We demand our continent genuinely engaged in ways to reverse the historical injustices we have suffered as a people. We shall continue to hold our leaders accountable for the fiscal governance of our economies because we believe the continent can build a future of dignity, equality and prosperity for all.”
Earlier on the sideline of the New Year School, the General Secretary, ITUC-Africa, Comrade Akhator Joel Odigie, on why emphasis on organising and inter-union collaboration and unity was a major part of the school sessions, said, “As a people aiming at driving the transformation agenda of Africa, we are no more a people that lament and wail. We will now engage, pressure government, demand accountability and services. We will encourage our governments to do the right thing. We will broker democratic dividends for workers and the people at large. The brain has been sparked, the education has started, the action has begun and the pursuit is on the horizons.
“Primarily, this meeting in Lusaka has one main goal and the goal is how do we give workers capacity to take action to changing situation in their country? Education for action is therefore at the heart of everything we are doing right now. This is because if we do not understand why we need to unite, we will continue to do the regular things we are doing and we will be expecting results to be different but it will never be. To ensure that results are different then it presupposes that we must understand.
“Much more importantly is that unity is at the heart of progress. Even the Bible says go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise. The soldier ants are united in their course. Watch the sense of their unity; they do things in understanding, in sync and they get great result but with small actions and in unified steps. So we understand that unity is critical for us to move forward otherwise we will always be divided and be speaking in discordant tune. We need to make progress.
“Unity means working together in one accord at the national and local level. Unity means more importantly, rather than so many fragmented and small inefficient unions, let us analyse and say if truly we want to make change happen, let’s come together. And we must come together. In other words, it means merging. Even big companies still do mergers and acquisition. They are already big but still merge and become stronger to achieve more.
“Unfortunately, we find the reverse in trade unionism lately. Small unions are even breaking away, yet we say we want to cause change. We cause change to happen when we come together, when we join forces. We need to be sincere and tell ourselves the truth. Part of the problem of fragmentation in trade union today is because of selfishness. You want to be a big fish in a small pond? A big fish in a small pond can never swim well and it can never grow. The size will be constrained to that pond. Why not make the pond bigger so that the fish can always expand. That is what merger means. Ultimately who benefits; the workers, the society. When workers and people come together in unity, there is strength and progress.”
To further buttress the importance of unity of trade unions campaign, Odigie said, “Trade unions can engage in fighting against illicit financial flow, first by understanding what we are talking about. This is why education is important. Secondly, by designing their own action. Our action is largely advocacy and part of the action is mobilisation of workers and the people; engaging government and other socioeconomic actors within the terrain of the global financial architecture, notably the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
“Secondly, understanding the issue means this issue is about us. When you talk about illicit financial flow, it is about jobs. When people steal resources, government is not able to create jobs. And we are saying the best way to increase tax legitimately is by expanding the tax base. Expanding the base means to employ more people. It is about wages and salaries. Oftentimes, if government doesn’t have enough resources, you find out that in some places wages are late or not paid.
“Also, understanding it means government must be able to earn resources to finance social protection, which all of us need especially workers. How do I mean? Workers have too many dependents that are relying on the meagre salaries. If government is able to provide social services, that will reduce the pressure on the meagre salary that workers are earning. But more importantly, this social protection provision can to take so many persons out of poverty, inequality, misery and hardship.
“Illicit financial flow is about governance and democracy. For where you put your money, you put your mouth. What we find is that it is only workers who pay taxes. So if they pay taxes, the physical governance at the national level means they should also be able to speak with their vote, with their everyday pressure and demand for accountability and services from the government.”
On decent job agenda, he said, “The decent work agenda talks about four issues: provision of jobs, rights at work, social protection and social dialogue. These four pillars of decent work agenda we agree with it and we pursue it aggressively. The decent work agenda is our issue because our brothers and sisters need jobs. Africa is a youthful population, advantageous one for that matter but under exploited. We need to begin to be more imaginative to creating the jobs our people need for our countries to move forward.
“On the other hand, at work, a lot of workers are not allowed to join unions; their rights are suppressed. And we say no. Such is not a society that works or one that will move us forward. As humans, they have human and workers’ rights. So for us, it is important to defend their rights, essentially why we are trade unions, why we are organised labour: to defend, protect and promote these rights.
“When we talk about social protection, which we have been on anywhere we go, it is about making an inclusive and progressive society for all to happen, including for workers. And social protection means fair wages, opportunities to be able to access social benefits, go into retirement with a good pension, opportunities for the family of the workers to be able to have access to affordable healthcare, housing, education, portable water, sanitation, social dialogue. Do not do things without consulting me. If I am a player in the workplace, let’s work together, ask my view, consult me. If we have an issue, let’s dialogue. These are the things we are talking about. And ultimately, let’s negotiate because dialogue and negotiation are not the same thing.”
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