Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za ii Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za iii Edited by Björn Beckman, Sakhela Buhlungu and Lloyd Sachikonye Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Published by HSRC Press Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.hsrcpress.ac.za First published 2010 ( ) 978-0-7969-2306-6 () 978-0-7969-2307-3 (-) 978-0-7969-2308-0 © 2010 Human Sciences Research Council The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Human Sciences Research Council (‘the Council’) or indicate that the Council endorses the views of the authors. In quoting from this publication, readers are advised to attribute the source of the information to the individual author concerned and not to the Council. Copyedited by Lee Smith Typeset by Lou Wrench Cover by Farm Design Printed by printer, Cape Town, South Africa Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver Tel: +27 (0) 21 701 4477; Fax: +27 (0) 21 701 7302 www.oneworldbooks.com Distributed in Europe and the United Kingdom by Eurospan Distribution Services (EDS) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7240 0856; Fax: +44 (0) 20 7379 0609 www.eurospanbookstore.com Distributed in North America by Independent Publishers Group (IPG) Call toll-free: (800) 888 4741; Fax: +1 (312) 337 5985 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Preface vi Acronyms and abbreviations ix 1 Introduction: Trade unions and party politics in Africa 1 Björn Beckman and Lloyd Sachikonye 2 Autonomy or political aliation? Senegalese trade unions in the face of economic and political reforms 23 Alfred Inis Ndiaye 3 Disengagement from party politics: Achievements and challenges for the Ghana Trades Union Congress 39 Emmanuel O Akwetey with David Dorkenoo 4 The failure of Nigeria’s Labour Party 59 Björn Beckman and Salihu Lukman 5 Trade unions, liberalisation and politics in Uganda 85 John-Jean Barya 6 The labour movement and democratisation in Zimbabwe 109 Lovemore Matombo and Lloyd M Sachikonye 7 Unions and parties in South Africa: C and the in the wake of Polokwane 131 Roger Southall and Edward Webster 8 Serving workers or serving the party? Trade unions and politics in Namibia 167 Herbert Jauch 9 Trade unions and the politics of national liberation in Africa: An appraisal 191 Sakhela Buhlungu Contributors 207 Index 208 Contents Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za vi Preface a conference that was held at the Parktonian Hotel in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, from 21–22 July 2006, hosted by the Sociology of Work Unit () at the University of the Witwatersrand. It preceded the World Congress of Sociology that was organised by the International Sociological Association () in Durban the subsequent week, where a meeting of the ’ s Research Committee on the Labour Movement (44) was coordinated by Eddie Webster and Sakhela Buhlungu of . As 44 is global in its orientation, the idea was to hold a special pre- conference focusing on Africa, the host continent of the World Congress. The pre- conference was a joint undertaking between , the Politics of Development Group, Stockholm University, and the Agrarian and Labour Studies Department at the Institute of Development Studies (), University of Zimbabwe. It built on a network of labour scholars, including an earlier workshop in Harare that resulted in a 2001 book on liberalisation and the restructuring of state–society relations in Africa, edited by Björn Beckman and Lloyd Sachikonye, as well as a symposium in Harare in July 2002, also organised by the . Trade unionists were invited to the conference and joint papers by labour scholars and unionists were encouraged, as reflected in this book. The president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (), Lovemore Matombo, and other leading Zimbabwean unionists contributed actively. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (), the leading trade union centre of the hosting nation, was well represented. One session was chaired by Zwelinzima Vavi, the general secretary, and South African unionists contributed to panels and debates. The Zambia experience, not covered in this book, was presented by a unionist. The conference also involved union-based scholars from the African Labour Research Network that brings together union-linked research outfits, such as South Africa’s National Labour and Economic Development Institute (), the Labour Resource and Research Institute of Namibia, the Labour and Economic Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za vii Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe, and the research units of Ghana Trade Union Congress, Zambia Congress of Trade Unions, and the Nigeria Labour Congress. The director of oered a lead speech to one session. Although African in focus, the conference contained a comparative element, taking advantage of the presence of labour scholars from non-African countries who had come for 44, including Rob Lambert and Peter Evans who served as discussants and rapporteurs. A comparative paper drawing on the Indonesian and South Asian experience by Olle Törnquist of the University of Oslo was also presented but is not included in this all-African collection. Funding for the conference was provided by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, a foundation closely associated with the German Social Democratic Party and specially concerned with the union–party link. A Swedish research grant (Sida/) allowed African participants to attend the subsequent Durban conference and the meetings of 44. Both the conference in Braamfontein and the subsequent 44 meeting in Durban were ably coordinated by Anthea Metcalfe on behalf of and the three cooperating institutions. Although originating in the 2006 Braamfontein conference, the chapters of this book have been developed further to take account of subsequent developments. Some are new altogether, including the South Africa chapter by Roger Southall and Eddie Webster that seeks to make sense of the Polokwane events. The Zimbabwe situation has continued to deteriorate and some of the participants in the workshop, including the president, have been subjected to brutal violence by the henchmen of the regime. The concluding chapter by Sakhela Buhlungu, one of the editors, is also a fresh contribution to the debates. We are happy to include Herbert Jauch’s piece on Namibia, also specifically written for the book. Sadly, the continued repression of independent unions in Egypt has prevented the inclusion of a chapter by Rahma Refaat, a scholar–activist from the Centre for Trade Union and Workers Services, who contributed eectively to the discussions in Braamfontein and Durban. Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za viii We are grateful for the financial support provided by the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg towards the production of this book. The book is dedicated to Eddie Webster, a South African labour scholar, who has been instrumental in advancing the field of labour studies globally, and whose achievements were celebrated in Johannesburg in June 2009 to mark the occasion of his ocial retirement from the Department of Sociology of the University of the Witwatersrand. We wish him a continued productive life! Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za ix Acronyms and abbreviations All Africa Trade Union Federation – American Federation of Labour–Congress of Industrial Organisations African Growth and Opportunity Act African National Congress Afrique Occidentale Française (French West Africa) black economic empowerment Confédération Nationale des Travailleurs du Sénégal Central Organisation of Free Trade Unions (Uganda) Congress of South African Trade Unions Convention People’s Party (Ghana) Confédération des Syndicats Autonomes Economic Partnership Agreement Export Processing Zone Act (Namibia) economic structural adjustment programme European Union Forces du Changement Federation of South African Trade Unions Federation of Uganda Employers Federation of Uganda Trade Unions Growth, Employment and Reconstruction Ghana Trade Union Congress International Confederation of Free Trade Unions Institute of Development Studies (University of Zimbabwe) International Labour Organisation International Monetary Fund Independent National Electoral Commission International Sociological Association Labour Relations Act Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Movement for Democratic Change (Zimbabwe) Member of Parliament Marxist Worker Tendency National Council of Trade Unions National Labour and Economic Development Institute (South Africa) National Constitutional Assembly (Zimbabwe) National Executive Committee National Economic Development and Labour Council non-governmental organisation Nigeria Labour Congress National Liberation Council (Ghana) National Organisation of Trade Unions (Uganda) National Resistance Army (Uganda) National Resistance Movement (Uganda) – National Resistance Movement–Organisation (Uganda) National Social Security Fund (Uganda) National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (Nigeria) National Union of Local Government Employees (Nigeria) National Union of Namibian Workers Ovamboland People’s Organisation Parti Démocratique Sénégalais Public Order and Security Act (Zimbabwe) Parti Socialiste (Socialist Party, Senegal) 44 Research Committee on the Labour Movement (of the ) South African Confederation of Trade Unions South African Communist Party South African Congress of Trade Unions structural adjustment programme Social Democratic Front (Ghana) Société Nationale des Télécommunications du Sénégal x Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za [...]... The political importance of unions is not just a numerical issue but concerns the strategic location of organised labour in the economy Simultaneously, the issue of alliances and the relations between labour and other groups in society become central in understanding the political role of trade unions 8 TRADE UNIONS AND PARTY POLITICS Alliances: Trade unions, civil society and democracy Post-colonial... many with their own affiliated trade unions Wade’s party, Parti Démocratique Sénégalais, the dominant opposition party, however, had no history of trade union involvement In government, it sought to replicate the politics of its predecessor, vying for 16 TRADE UNIONS AND PARTY POLITICS control of the leading trade union centre and so causing a split between a state-friendly and a more ‘autonomist’ part... Union Uganda Trade Unions Congress Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions Zimbabwe Federation of Trade unions xi 1 Introduction: Trade unions and party politics in Africa Björn Beckman and Lloyd Sachikonye Labour movements and political parties are trade unions capable of enhancing their political inf luence through engaging with political parties while simultaneously... German Social Democratic Party 4 TRADE UNIONS AND PARTY POLITICS The African experience Historically, African trade unions have been active in broad popular struggles for independence and liberation (Freund 1988) They have often been central in resistance to authoritarianism, fascism and dictatorship (Kraus 2007) This meant extending their concerns and mandate beyond workplace issues and labour-related matters... popular and democratic content of Africa’s party politics? The evidence provided by this volume is far from unambiguous and opens up space for alternative interpretations One thing is certain – the relations between trade unions and political parties continue to be hotly contested INTRODUCTION: TRADE UNIONS AND PARTY POLITICS IN AfRICA 21 References Akwetey EO (2001) Democratic transition and post-colonial... labour and capital, between employees and employers, although obscured in the case of ruling parties and collective forms of ownership In the post-colonial situation, the conf lict is often suppressed with reference to wider notions of national liberation and national development How do contemporary African 2 TRADE UNIONS AND PARTY POLITICS trade unions strike the balance between such wider commitments and. .. national projects were in crisis and governments were under pressure to adjust Wage employment was badly hit and unions sought to disengage from the state–corporatist order which seemed to have lost its capacity to deliver Unions resisted retrenchments, 6 TRADE UNIONS AND PARTY POLITICS cuts in wages, privatisation, and the deterioration of social services They demanded greater autonomy as well as... (University of the Witwatersrand) Trades Union Congress (Ghana) Trade Union Congress (Britain) Trade Union Congress of Namibia University of Cape Coast (Ghana) United Kingdom Uganda Labour Congress Union Nationale des Syndicats Autonomes du Sénégal Uganda Peoples’ Congress United States of America Uganda Textile, Garments, Leather and Allied Workers’ Union Uganda Trade Unions Congress Zimbabwe African... into confrontation with international financial institutions and development agencies that have their own agenda and views of an appropriate policy framework Unions are commonly seen as a stumbling block to international strategies of privatisation and neo-liberal reforms of trade and property rights INTRODUCTION: TRADE UNIONS AND PARTY POLITICS IN AfRICA 3 However, international institutions, the... and its allies, trade unions lost much of their independent clout although they often retained privileged access to government and welfare benefits In much of Latin America and in Asia, the strong links between trade unions and political parties were reproduced along similar lines to those in Europe However, unions have occasionally been fragmented on party lines, as in India where each political party, . Serving workers or serving the party? Trade unions and politics in Namibia 167 Herbert Jauch 9 Trade unions and the politics of national liberation. African Trade Unions Federation of Uganda Employers Federation of Uganda Trade Unions Growth, Employment and Reconstruction Ghana Trade