Lawrence Egulu International Labour Standards and their Relevance to Sub-Saharan Africa in: Herbert Jauch/ Rudolf Traub-Merz(Eds.) The Future of the Textile and Clothing Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2006

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA International Labour Standards and their Relevance to Sub-Saharan Africa By Lawrence Egulu 1. Introduction Trade broadens markets. Countries with a small domestic market can sell their surplus products on the international market. This may lead to overall global growth and international specialisation. The international flow of commodities, capital, and people may bring new opportunities for countries and workers. The global market is set to enlarge and significantly affect an ever-increasing number of workers. However, the intensification of competition through the globalisation process impacts negatively on workers’ rights when governments, keen to attract foreign direct investments(FDI) and to increase their exports, offer various incentive packages which include low cost of labour and restriction of trade union activities, especially in export processing zones(EPZs). There is, therefore, concern about the lowering of labour standards as a way of providing incentives for potential investors. Violations of trade union rights are increasingly linked to international trade and investment, partly due to the competition for foreign investment by multinational companies(MNCs). Many governments are responding to these pressures by crude violations of core labour standards. The growing mobility of capital is increasing the bargaining power of employers, mainly MNCs vis-à-vis governments and workers. As long as some nations resort to such behaviour, other countries are placed at a competitive disadvantage if they do not follow suit. Such globalisation without a social dimension or any regulation is unacceptable and has to be rejected by the international community. The approach of the African Regional Organisation of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions(ICFTU-AFRO) has been to call on the international community to have some means of dealing with governments and MNCs that persistently violate labour standards and show no inclination to do anything to improve them. Without such a mechanism, the action of these governments and MNCs will lead to an international system that has no respect for labour standards as disadvantaged trading competitors are forced to lower standards or risk being unable to sell their exports on the global market. FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 105

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 2. Africa in the Global Market Recent economic trends show that Africa was the second fastest growing developing region behind Eastern and Southern Asia in 2003 and 2004. Africa’s performance was underpinned by rising prices of oil and other commodities, an increase in foreign direct investment(FDI) and good macroeconomic fundamentals, backed up by improved weather conditions. As a result, real GDP grew at 3.8 percent in 2003 and by 5 percent in 2004, the highest growth in eight years. These signs of progress are encouraging, but still fall short of the continent’s urgent need for much more rapid growth. Moreover, Africa is still far away from achieving the 7 percent growth that is required to meet the principal Millennium Development Goal(MDG) of halving poverty by 2015. The impact of globalisation on employment and the distribution of income within and between nations have also given rise to a number of interrelated concerns with respect to social repercussions of globalisation. In particular, increased international competition as a result of globalisation increases the pressure to cut production costs, including labour costs. The table below attests to the fact that globalisation is bypassing low-income countries, many of which are in Africa, with most beneficiaries being the rich OECD countries 1 . Africa’s main trading partners in 2003 have been the US, France, UK, Germany, Japan and Italy. With annual growth rates of 30% and more, China is vastly becoming an important trade power, and may have already climbed to third position in 2005. The dominance of the African market by the US(the US has operated a consistent trade deficit with Sub-Saharan Africa) and China signals a change in the pattern of trade, in which trade was mainly between the former colonial masters and the colonies. 1 According to the UNECA(2004), Africa’s trade performance is weak.“The region’s share in world merchandise exports fell from 6.3% in 1980 to 2.5% in 2000 in value terms. It recorded a meager 1.1% average annual growth over the 1980-2000 period, compared to 5.9% in Latin America and 7.1% in Asia. Further, while about 70% of developing countries’ exports are manufactures, Africa has hardly benefited from the boom in these exports. Overall on the continent, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, progress on export diversification has been slow”. 106 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Table 1: GDP, Trade and Capital Flows(1985-2002) US$ billion 1985 2002 Percentage share of world level 1985 2002 GDP India and China Low income countries, excl. India Middle income countries, excl. China High income countries World 558.5 579.3 2,234.1 9,393.4 12,765.2 1,922.4 634.7 3,702.9 25,867.0 32,127.0 4.4 4.5 17.5 73.6 100.0 6.0 2.0 11.5 80.5 100.0 Exports of goods and services China and India Low income countries, excl. India Middle income countries, excl. China High income countries World 79.1 82.5 433.9 1,718.7 2,314.1 685.1 215.2 1,227.2 5,732.6 7,860.2 3.4 3.6 18.7 74.3 100.0 8.7 2.7 15.6 72.9 100.0 Inflows of FDI China and India Low income countries, excl. India Middle income countries, excl. China High income countries World 1.7 62.0 2.9 9.8 1.9 7.1 3.3 1.1 9.7 79.1 16.8 12.5 44.7 484.3 77.1 76.6 58.0 632.6 100.0 100.0 Inflows of total portfolio investment China and India Low income countries, excl. India Middle income countries, excl. China High income countries World Source: Gunter and Van der Hoeven(2004). 2.3 0.05 9.1 123.8 135.2 49.8 0.07 30.0 639.9 719.8 1.7 0.038 6.7 91.6 100.0 6.9 0.009 4.2 88.9 100.0 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 107

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Graphic 1: Africa’s Principal Trading Partners, 2003(Industrial Countries) $ Billions 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 USA FRANCE UK GERMANY JAPAN ITALY Exports of Africa Imports of Africa Source: Derived from IMF Directions of Trade Statistics Yearbook, 2004 2. Labour Standards in Africa’s Policy Documents Despite progress and commitments made in the status of ratification of core ILO standards, unacceptable labour conditions still prevail in a number of African countries, as a result of lack of proper international enforcement mechanisms. Furthermore, increasing economic competition accompanying the globalisation process threatens to further increase the exploitation of labour. (a) African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation The main policy document of the Organization of African Unity(now African Union-AU) with regard to labour standards is the African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation, adopted in Arusha, Tanzania in 1990. The Charter calls on the labour movement to“defend trade union rights, in particular the right to strike”; and to“promote workplace democracy through the call for the protection of workers’ rights to freedom of association, collective bargaining and participatory management”, inter alia. 108 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (b) AU Employment and Poverty Summit At a recent AU Employment and Poverty Summit, in Ouagadougou in September 2004, the outcome document supported the“continuing efforts made by our governments, social partners and civil society organizations to promote the decent work development agenda of the ILO” through the promotion and implementation of “international labour standards and, fundamental principles at work….” (c) Labour standards are missing in NEPAD The New Partnership for Africa’s Development(NEPAD) is a programme of the African Union that pledges to extricate the continent from the malaise of underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalised economy, with poverty eradication being a major objective. NEPAD recognises that“peace, security, democracy, good governance and sound economic management are sustainable conditions for sustainable development”. NEPAD is a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development, and at the same time to participate actively in the world economy and body politic. NEPAD is premised on African states making commitments to good governance, democracy and human rights, while endeavoring to prevent and resolve situations of conflict and instability on the continent. Coupled to these efforts to create conditions conducive for investment, growth and development are initiatives to raise the necessary resources to address critical sectors such as infrastructure, education, health, agriculture and information communication technology. In its preamble, NEPAD is“appealing neither for further entrenchment of dependency through aid, nor for marginal concessions”, but rather calling for a new relationship of partnership between Africa and the international community. In the Declaration in Dakar, Senegal adopted on 20 February 2002 the two Pan-African trade union organisations – the ICFTU-AFRO and the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity(OATUU) – declared their opposition to the neo-liberal paradigm that is devoid of a social dimension, and reiterated that structural adjustment programs have failed in Africa due mainly to lack of stakeholder involvement and consultations, more so“NEPAD which pretends to pave the way for Africa’s development, seems to have been painted on the very neo-liberal canvass, which ignores demands for social insurance, thus simultaneously constraining the ability of governments to respond effectively to any such demands“. FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 109

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA To better incorporate trade union involvement, the following are proposed: • the adoption of effective measures to provide free market access for African products. There is need, therefore, to redress the serious imbalances and discrimination against African countries as a result of prohibitive measures – barriers to trade and other unfair trade practices and rules; • the incorporation of respect for core labour standards into the administration of NEPAD, and the establishment of a formal structure(within NEPAD) to address trade, development and core labor standards, with the full participation of the ICFTU-AFRO and OATUU; • the inclusion of social, labour, gender, environment and development concerns in the NEPAD’s trade and development policy review mechanisms; • prioritising the creation of decent well-paid jobs as a basis for wealth-creation and poverty eradication; • setting up an operational tripartite structure facilitating effective participation of African workers and employers; and • including the representatives of African workers and employers in the Heads of State delegations negotiating NEPAD’s implementation with development partners. 3. Labour Standards, International Trade and International Policy Tools (a) The“African Growth and Opportunity Act” The“African Growth and Opportunity Act”(AGOA), introduced on 24 th April 1997, was criticised by the ICFTU-AFRO for its notable omission of workers’ rights. In Geneva in June 1998, representatives of affiliated African trade unions deliberated on the bill. This Act aimed to introduce a new trade and investment policy for 48 Sub-Saharan African countries. Through this, the US government envisaged a new partnership with Africa that would focus on trade and investments rather than aid. Altogether, twelve eligibility requirements have to be met by any participating Sub-Saharan African country, in order to be part of future trade agreements, to receive additional assistance from the international financing agencies and to qualify for debt forgiveness. 110 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AGOA Eligibility Requirements for Sub-Saharan African Countries (A) a market-based economy that protects private property rights, incorporates an open rules-based trading system, and minimises government interference in the economy through measures such as price controls, subsidies, and government ownership of economic assets; (B) the rule of law, political pluralism, and the right to due process, a fair trial, and equal protection under the law; (C) the elimination of barriers to United States trade and investment, including by (I) the provision of national treatment and measures to create an environment conducive to domestic and foreign investment; (II) the protection of intellectual property; and (III) the resolution of bilateral trade and investment disputes; (D) economic policies to reduce poverty, increase the availability of health care and educational opportunities, expand physical infrastructure, promote the development of private enterprise, and encourage the formation of capital markets through micro-credit or other programs; (E) a system to combat corruption and bribery, such as signing and implementing the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions; and (F) protection of internationally recognised workers‘ rights, including the right of association, the right to organise and bargain collectively, a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor, a minimum age for the employment of children, and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health; (G) does not engage in activities that undermine United States national security or foreign policy interests; and (H) does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognised human rights or provide support for acts of international terrorism and cooperates in international efforts to eliminate human rights violations and terrorist activities. However, the ICFTU-AFRO felt that there were a number of flaws in the Bill. Firstly, there was an omission regarding the important aspect of workers’ rights. Without a guarantee in the Bill that workers’ rights would be respected, violations of their rights were likely to worsen. Secondly, the twelve eligibility requirements stipulated by the Bill were very constraining to African countries already burdened by the structural adjustment conditionalities set-up by the IMF and the World Bank. These conditionalities placed African countries at a disadvantage and contributed to a continuous cycle of underdevelopment. Thirdly, although the Bill referred to trade in textiles and apparel by Kenya and Mauritius, it did not address the effects of the transhipment of goods and services through African countries on workers in Africa and the USA. Fourthly, the Bill was suspect in its emphasis FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 111

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA on short-term transient private sector development while it placed no emphasis on long-term trade and investments and on private and public sector commitments. Lastly, there was concern that the Bill undermined the sovereignty and integrity of African governments by dictating to them terms to be incorporated in their development agendas. Following pressure from the ICFTU-AFRO and the AFL-CIO, a number of labour provisions, outlined in the AGOA eligibility requirements(see F above), were included in the final AGOA Act 434, signed by President Clinton on May 18, 2000 as the“Trade and Development Act of 2000”. (b) Making Multinationals adhere to Labour Standards Where Multinational Companies(MNCs) outsource their businesses, subsidiaries, subcontractors and suppliers are not necessarily bound to abide by a uniform set of company principles. In a number of export processing zones(EPZs), several cases of violations of workers’ rights have been documented. Due to pressure from trade unions and other human rights activities, a number of MNCs have opted for Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR), a concept which is all about management’s voluntary actions. Trade unions have often argued that these initiatives are mere public relations gimmicks and have continued to call on businesses to take on board true social responsibilities by, for instances, adopting the two most often quoted non-binding but universally acceptable instruments – the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multination Enterprises and Social Policy. Both were revised in 2000 and now incorporate all of the rights enshrined in the 1998 ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up. (c) The Generalized System of Preferences(GSP) 2 The Generalized System of Preferences(GSP) has in a number of cases included workers’ rights clauses, as a result of pressure from the trade unions. The following successes in the trade union campaigns for fair investment regimes are worth noting: • An ICFTU/ETUC joint submission led to the suspension of Burma due to thatcountry’s use of forced labour. In January 2004, the EU endorsed investigations into Belarus’ violations of workers’ rights, which, if successful, would result into her losing the EU market. Other incentive clauses reward those countries that respect ILO core labour standards; 2 The GSP provides preferential access for developing country products to the developed country markets. Set up in 1971, a number of industrialized countries: Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and USA have operated them. 112 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA • As a result of AFL-CIO’s campaigns, the US has since 1984 operated its GSP. Many countries have been subject to investigations, while others have lost their trading status with the US. The GSP has also encouraged other countries to improve respect for workers’ rights; • The ICFTU/Global Union Federations(GUF) Basic Code of Labour Practice was adopted as a benchmark against which company codes could be compared. Subsequent multi-stakeholder codes were based on the basic code; • International Framework Agreements(IFAs), signed by GUFs and MNCs, recognise that the company intends to engage the relevant union in discussing issues of mutual interest to both parties. So far the ICEM, IFBWW, IMF, IUF and UNI have signed such IFAs; • Under the Lomé IV Convention, partnership between the European Union(EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific(ACP) group of countries has been extended to trade unions(national federations as well as the ICFTU, WCL, OATUU, and the ETUC) in the two blocks of countries. The successor to Lomé IV 3 , signed in Cotonou, Benin on June 23 rd , 2000, was concluded after eighteen months of in-depth negotiations. In a number of regional economic groupings, trade unions have made inroads. At the EU/ACP, trade unions are part of the Economic and Social Committee, and some of their activities are eligible for funding; • The 2004 Athens Olympics provided an opportunity for trade unions to expose the unfair labour practices of various sportswear companies. The ICFTU, ITGLWF, Oxfam, Clean Clothes Campaign and a number of national trade union federations joined forces to bring to light the workers’ rights situation in countries such as Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Turkey. (d) Labour Standards and the WTO Ministerial Conferences ICFTU-AFRO’s actions in the campaign to incorporate a workers’ rights clause in all international trade agreements continued to be guided by the recommendations of the Conference on“Defending Workers’ Human Rights in the Global Economy” held in Nairobi, Kenya, in March/ April 1998. The Conference adopted a special African position statement to the Second Ministerial meeting of the WTO (Geneva, May 1998) and other subsequent fora in which the question of workers’ rights would feature. Some of the recommendations are below: 3 The Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of African states of the one part, and the European Community and its member states, of the other part. FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 113

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Actions by ICFTU-AFRO: • present this statement to the OAU Labour Ministers’ meeting in Pretoria(1318 April 1998) with a view of soliciting the support of African governments towards a workers’ rights clause come the second bi-annual ministerial meeting of the WTO; • circulate the same statement to the other African institutions, like the UNECA, ADB, OATUU, and all active economic groupings and NGOs; • engage African governments with a view of soliciting their approval for the workers’ rights clause; • in collaboration with the ICFTU, promote this statement at the WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva(18-20 May 1998) and present it to the UNDP, UNICEF, UNCTAD and other relevant institutions; • in collaboration with the ICFTU, seek periodic consultations with the IMF and World Bank in order to closely monitor the effects of their policies on the human rights of workers; • prepare a report comprising a compendium of replies of affiliates concerning their governments’ positions on workers’ rights and trade, together with proposals for overcoming their opposition; • closely work with ITS in order to ensure that effective codes of conduct and guidelines on multinationals are adopted and implemented; • assist the trade union federations in order to enable them adequately respond to the challenges of globalisation; • revitalise and be of support to sub-regional trade union organisations in order to ensure that they formulate social charters that are subsequently adopted by the respective sub-regional organisations; • disseminate information about the differing situations in different sub-regions; and • continue the fight against the repression of human and trade union rights in Africa. 4. Labour Standards within the International Financing Institutions(IFIs) There have been several calls for widespread changes to take effect at the International Financing Institutions(IFIs), and to make sure their programmes are socially responsive. Of particular importance is the need for the incorporation of labour standards in their lending, bidding and development policies. Some modest progress in the trade union dialogue with the IMF and World Bank has been recorded, including the following: 114 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA • At the World Bank, a Labour Markets Team was set up at the Social Protection Unit within the Human Development Network. • There has been stated commitment by the World Bank to the incorporation of labour standards 4 . In May 2003, the World Bank board discussed the role of core labour standards, while in September 2004 the International Finance Facility(IFC)-funded projects in Haiti and the Dominican Republic both had clauses requiring the borrowing company(Grupo M, a major international company specialising in clothing brands) to respect freedom of association and collective bargaining. • Unions have since 1995 been consulted in the production of the World Bank’s World Development Report. • In February 2002, a protocol was agreed to by the World Bank and the IMF toward the holding of regular and enhanced dialogue. While high-level policy making political meetings are held once every two years, staff level meetings are annual and are subject-specific. • In February 2003, the World Bank published a book Unions and Collective Bargaining: Economic Effects in a Global Environment, which gave some amount of recognition to the role of trade unions in economic development. • A number of trade union secondments have been made to the World Bank since 2003. • The ICFTU-AFRO senior economist was seconded to the World Bank in Washington, D.C. The one-year special assignment(January to December 2003) involved, inter alia, encouraging trade unions to partake of the PRSP process, and directly linked unions with the World Bank, IMF and government departments responsible for PRSPs 5 . • In the fall of the same year, a PSI official worked at the World Bank’s public sector restructuring unit for three months. 4 At the meeting between the international trade union movement(Global Unions and WCL) and the IMF and World Bank, the World Bank’s director for procurement announced that the World Bank, other multilateral banks and the International Federation of Consulting Engineers(FIDIC) had agreed to the inclusion of clauses on child labour, forced labour, records of workers and social aspects of works into the standard bidding documents. The IFC on the other hand was reviewing its safeguard policy to include the right to organise and collectively bargain non-discrimination at work, contract labour issues, health and safety and other working conditions(e.g. wages, benefits and hours of work). These would be additional to the existing safeguards – harmful child labour and forced labour. 5 As part of the assignment, the secondee published a World Bank Social Protection Discussion Paper No. 0147 titled Trade Union Participation in the PRSP Process, detailing the nature and extent of trade union participation in the PRSP process in 23 countries, namely Albania, Benin, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia& Herzegovina, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 115

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA • In early 2004, an official from the IFBWW did some similar work in the World Bank’s procurement division. Her main task was following up on the international work on ensuring that labour clauses be included in World Bank policy, in loan agreements and in construction documents. • In late 2004 and early 2005, a WCL staffer was seconded to the External Affairs(EXTIA) Department at the World Bank. • In the spring of 2005, a representative of the ITF was seconded to the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia(ECA) Region. 5. Violations of Workers’ Rights in Africa Continue Trade union rights violations continue on the African continent. The ICFTU’s 2006 Annual Survey notes the following: Already crippled by the burden of poverty and underdevelopment, the African continent carries the added weight of trade union repression. Whilst Africa‘s workers struggle to scrape a living wage from jobs that generally offer no social protection, the powers that be remain brutal in their oppression of trade union rights, responding to attempts to improve conditions with violent intimidation, arrests and dismissals. Collective bargaining continues to be very limited on the continent and the export processing zones developing in the wake of globalisation are simply inflating the scale of exploitation 6 . Violations of workers’ rights in Africa – Some Examples In the EPZs – the symbol, par excellence, of the unbridled competition dominating the global market at the expense of social and labour rights – employers remain resolute in their opposition to any form of organising or trade union activity, particularly in Malawi, Mauritius and Nigeria. Across the continent, in the numerous zones stretching from Morocco to Madagascar, abuse is common currency. In Kenya, a workplace representative at a textile factory in the Athi River EPZ was dismissed and blacklisted after asking the company to pay the wage increases set down in the collective agreement signed the previous year. In Namibia, a Chinese worker at a Malaysian-owned textile plant reputed for its anti-union practices found herself in hospital following an attack by a dog used by security guards during a demonstration organised by the Chinese workers. They were protesting their working 6 See http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991222872&Language=EN, page 1. 116 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA conditions, the inedible food and the medicals imposed at their own expense. Four hundred Bangladeshi workers were evicted and had their work permits confiscated after protesting against the appalling living conditions. At the end of September, the court ruled that the company had to pay 66 of these workers ten months wages, their flight home and part of their legal expenses. An inquiry held by the National Union of Namibian Workers(NUNW) revealed that the Bangladeshi workers had paid recruitment agencies up to 21 million dollars without receiving any proof of payment, opening the door to serious suspicions of human trafficking. See http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991222872&Language=EN, page 1. In April 1999, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda warned developing countries that there were some WTO member countries trying to“smuggle” the social clause into the WTO. He said such attempts were deliberate measures aimed at frustrating the developing countries’ access to the international market. He said::“…I would like to observe that non-trade issues are being deliberately smuggled into trade to the detriment of our well-being. Currently, there is all out effort by some countries of the World Trade Organisation(WTO) to include a social clause in the mandate of the WTO that will establish a link between market access and the enforcement of labour standards… There are other issues being smuggled into trade such as the environment and stringent hygienic conditions for products originating in the South. All these are non-tariff barriers being constantly erected against us. Please watch out for them” 7 . Museveni also justified underpayment by the fact that the workers in question were hitherto unemployed and now had some means of survival. In December 2004, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations(AFL-CIO) and UNITE 8 petitioned the United States Trade Representative(USTR) to remove Uganda from the list of beneficiary developing countries under the GSP and AGOA, the reasons being Uganda’s“failure to make continual progress towards establishing internationally recognized worker rights”, 7 Remarks at the opening of the 8th G77 Chamber of Commerce and Industry(CCI) General Assembly, in Kampala, Uganda. 8 UNITE(formerly the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) and HERE(Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union) merged on July 8, 2004 forming UNITE HERE. The union represents more than 450,000 active members and more than 400,000 retirees throughout North America. UNITE HERE boasts a diverse membership, comprised largely of immigrants and including high percentages of African-American, Latino, and Asian-American workers. The majority of UNITE HERE members are women. FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 117

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA which constitutes independent grounds for AGOA eligibility. The case of Tri-Star in Uganda presents a particularly troubling example of workers’ rights violations as a result of lowering standards in order to gain access to the US markets. A recent report found that young women at the factory were sometimes forced to work eighteen hours a day and that they were abused by managers. When the workers protested, they were confronted by riot police and then fired on. According to the report, a local newspaper quoted the President of Uganda as not only supporting the firings but also ordering them, claiming their protest actions would have“scared off investors.” 9 6. Conclusion Trade will increasingly continue to be relied upon by African countries to generate the resources for financing development. By whatever name one might“baptise” Africa’s development efforts, the reality is that none of them has made any meaningful inroads in far as making any significant dent into poverty is concerned. Poverty eradication requires a broad approach, taking into account not only the sheer economic aspects, but also the social, human and environmental dimension. This implies an increased focus on issues like good governance at national and international levels and the fight against corruption, respect for all internationally recognised human and trade union rights, gender issues, capacity and institutional building and environmental concerns. With the phasing out of the quota systems that had guaranteed some countries preferential trade access to the EU and US markets on January 1, 2005, a number of textiles and clothing exporting countries stand to lose immensely, while China, with its low labour costs and economies of scale, is the beneficiary. On the other hand, jobs are at risk in African textiles exporting countries. As long as investors play one country against the other, labour standards will continue to spiral downwards. And as long as no penalties are slapped on violators of workers’ rights, those that observe them will be the losers. 9 Andrew Rice,“Letter from Uganda,” The Nation, No. 6, Vol. 279, p. 28(August 30, 2004). 118 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA References Gunter, B. G. and Van der Hoeven, R. 2004. The social dimension of globalization: A review of literature, in International Labour Review Volume 143, Number 1-2, Geneva: ILO. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions(ICFTU). 2004. Report on Activities, 1999-2003, presented at the 18th ICFTU World congress in Miyazaki, Japan, December 2004. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions African Regional Organization (ICFTU-AFRO). 2001a. Trade Unions and Poverty Alleviation: Towards a Comprehensive Strategy. Background document for the Pan-African Conference on the Trade Union Role in Poverty Alleviation, Nairobi, May 2001. ____. 2001b. Report on Activities, 1997-2000 – prepared for the 12 th ICFTU-AFRO Congress, Nairobi, May 2001. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD). 2003. World Investment Report 2003. Geneva. ____. 2004. Trade and Development Report 2004. Geneva. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. 2004. Economic Report on Africa(ERA) 2004. Addis Ababa. United Nations Development Program(UNDP). Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press(various years). FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 119