The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has urged that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) be implemented in a “people-centred” manner to ensure that workers and communities benefit from the agreement.
The organisation submitted a formal petition on Friday to the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, addressed to Secretary-General Wamkele Mene.
The petition, signed by ITUC-Africa and TUC Ghana, described AfCFTA as one of the continent’s most ambitious initiatives, with the potential to transform Africa’s economies, generate employment, and drive industrialisation.
“Yet without deliberate safeguards, trade liberalisation risks exacerbating inequality, fuelling precarious work, and excluding women, youth, informal workers, and other vulnerable groups from its benefits.
“To fulfil the promise of Agenda 2063, AfCFTA must balance trade expansion with social justice, decent work, and inclusive development.“
The unions called for the adoption of a stand-alone AfCFTA protocol on labour and social clauses, saying that AfCFTA must enshrine labour and social protections in a dedicated, enforceable protocol.
This protocol, it said, should commit State Parties to uphold ILO core conventions, collective bargaining rights, minimum social protection floors and safeguards for vulnerable groups, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
“Guarantee Union Participation in AfCFTA Governance-Trade unions must be formally represented in National Implementation Committees and AfCFTA technical bodies. ITUC-Africa should be granted observer status and formally invited to all trade-related negotiations and policy forums at the continental level.
“Ensure Monitoring, Enforcement, and Accountability-an independent labour and social rights oversight mechanism should be created within the AfCFTA. It must be empowered to receive complaints, review compliance, and recommend corrective measures against non-adherence.
“Your Excellency, these measures are not obstacles but enablers of inclusive growth.
“A stand-alone protocol would align AfCFTA with global best practices, prevent a race to the bottom in wages and conditions, and instead encourage a race to the top in labour standards,” it stated.