Institut Belleville-CFDT and ITUC-Africa support trade union research in West Africa

By Elodie Aïssi - Institut Belleville-CFDT

At the beginning of 2017, ITUC-Africa and Institut Belleville-CFDT launched the national training workshops planned under phase two of the project “Supporting trade union action on economic and social matters to make decent work a reality in Africa”. This second phase, lasting three years, involves 28 trade union organisations, affiliated to ITUC-Africa, in eight French-speaking countries of West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The specific aims of the project are:

  • To develop the economic and social analysis capacities of French-speaking trade union organisations from West Africa;
  • To enable these organisations to play an influential role in determining and implementing social and economic policies.

As part of the project, Trade Union Analysis and Research Committees (CARES) benefit from capacity building sessions. The CARES, composed of two to four representatives from each national organisation affiliated to ITUC-Africa, serve as important tools for the trade union organisations concerned. Their members take part in the training activities offered and commit to heading research projects linked to the three main themes of this second phase of the project:

  • Extending social protection to informal economy workers
  • Analysis of the state budget
  • The social responsibility of multinational companies and tracking the international framework agreements signed between some of these multinationals and global union federations.

The national CARES are also called on to organise activities, through their trade union organisations, aimed at disseminating the results of their research, and to present the public authorities with concrete proposals to advance workers’ rights (advocacy campaigns, national forums, etc.). Each committee is, in addition, invited to take part in the CARES regional network set up within the framework of the project to help the trade union organisations present joint demands at regional level.

Project implemented with financial support from: