OPENING REMARKS BY BRO. FRANCIS ATWOLI, MBS THE PRESIDENT OF TRADE UNION FEDERATION OF EASTERN AFRICA, TUFEA DURING THE OPENING OF REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS ON REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN AFRICA, 24 TH 28 TH MARCH 2008, ASMARA, ERITREA
Page 2 of 5 Hon. Minister of Labour and Human Welfare; Eritrean Government Officials; Hon. Woldai Futur, Minister of National Development; Bro. Hassan Sunmonu, Secretary General, Organization of African Trade Union Unity; Bro. Andrew Kailembo, Advisor to the General Secretary, ITUC-AFRICA; Dr. Abubakar and Members of Your Delegation representing Sudan Workers Trade Union; Bro. Tekeste Baire, General Secretary National Confederation of Eritrean Workers, NCEW; Paula Amade, Internacional Labour Organisation; Eng. Mohamed Abdel-Haleem and Members of Your Delegation representing Egyptian Trade Union Confederation; Brothers from Italian Labour Movement, UNDP. EU Representatives Bro. Boby Marie ILO/Pretoria; Bro. Yemane Ghebreab, Head of Political Affairs, PFDJ; Dr. Sophia Kisting, ILO/AIDS GENEVA; My Colleagues, Brothers and Sisters,
Page 3 of 5 On behalf of my colleagues and workers within Eastern Africa and on my own behalf I bring you Easter Greetings from Kenyan Workers. Let me take this early opportunity to congratulate our brothers from Eritrea Trade Union fraternity for hosting this important conference. The importance of Economic Integration and Conflict Resolution in the globalized world can no longer be taken for granted. It is our responsibility as regional trade union organization to support the efforts our governments are making to promote regional integration as we know that Economic integration leads to larger markets that promote employment opportunities and make goods and services more accessible to our people through removal of tariffs and non tariff barriers as well as creating realization of our own efforts and economic independence. The scramble for Africa by colonialists indeed divided the continent on the basis of language and geographical location. The segmentation of the Africa Continent was meant to divide and rule for easy exploitation of resources by colonial masters unabated and as the same still persists today indirectly. For centuries, Africa has been integrated into the world economy mainly as a supplier of cheap labour and raw materials. CONFLICT RESOLUTION: The African Continent is known for a series of armed conflicts. Long term conditions for ensuring peace and security in Africa require policy measures for addressing the political and social vulnerabilities on which conflict is premised. Our experience with Post Election Violence and conflict in Kenya posed a real challenge to the trade union movement in Kenya. A number of workers lost their lives and a big number were displaced from their place of work. Last year February 2007 the Trade Union Federation of Eastern Africa, TUFEA and its affiliates met in my country Kenya in Nairobi on Conflict Resolution as a subject. We invited Politicians across the political divide and Senior Civil Servants from the Kenya Government including Ministers to talk on Conflict Resolution, little did we know that at the end of the same year Kenya would be more worse than any other country I have heard of on earth. The trade unions on the continent should engage governments on social dialogue in political and social issues that might lead to conflict on our Continent and I am happy to report that COTU (K) warned the Kenya Government and the Electoral Commission of Kenya ahead of the December Elections.
Page 4 of 5 Efforts to build Africa s capacity to manage all aspects of conflict must focus on the means necessary to strengthen existing regional and sub-regional institutions especially in four key areas. Prevention, management and resolution of conflict; Peace making, peace keeping and peace enforcement; Post conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and healing process; Combating the illicit proliferation of small arms, light weapons and land mines. The Trade Unions as democratic institutions should use their bargaining skills in conflict resolution as that is one of their key function to the nation. However, COTU (K) remained strong and played a vital role in reconciling the warring factions. We remained neutral in the political dispensation in Kenya and were an instrumental centre in promoting peace and tranquility during the political skirmishes to save workers and even on 18 th January 2008, COTU (K) met both President Mwai Kibaki and Hon. Raila Odinga during which we made our case known and we were the first organization even before the former UN Boss Koffi Annan to ask President Kibaki to share power with Hon. Raila for purposes of peace. We are now involved in activities that are meant to heal the wounds that were inflicted during the violence. REGIONAL INTEGRATION: The quickest way to win the battle for Africa s economic independence is to mobilize for the fast tracking of Africa s economic integration built on the pillars of rationalized Regional Economic Communities like the Economic Organization of West African States/ECOWAS) South African Development Coordinating Council, SADCC the East African Community and the North Africa Magreb States. In the course of our struggle to economic independence, we have to stop our countries from signing the Economic Partnership Agreements as regional trading blocks which will otherwise make economic integration in Africa more complicated. Mr. Chairman, the trade union movement has the mandate of ensuring that while promoting regional integration we should not lose sight of our key values of solidarity, Decent Work and democracy.
Page 5 of 5 We must as trade union leader s force ourselves in the regional trading blocks and entrench Decent Work and Core Labour Standards in all protocols that will be established by Regional and Sub-Regional trading blocks as we are now pressuring this agenda within the region in the East African Community through the East African Trade Union Confederation based in Arusha, Tanzania of which I am the Chairman. We should also build capacity amongst trade unions to engage the other players in regional integration. The highest priority for the workers of Africa is to promote intra Africa trade. African governments should shun listening to the West and adopting foreign policies that do not work. African countries should develop home grown policies to address the problems in Africa. In conclusion I call upon our affiliate unions in the region to double their recruitment efforts with a view of strengthening the trade union movement on the continent. There is an urgent need for some of our members to change their constitutions to allow for direct contributions from the members to the centre without passing through the national affiliate unions as it is the case in Kenya. Trade unions should also adopt modern management principles by operating through strategic plans and budgets as failing to plan is planning to fail. With these few remarks I wish you fruitful deliberation and an enjoyable stay in Asmara. Thank you.