Trade unions in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement
2024 - 2025
Budget Year 1: £21,085.50; Year 2: £29,026.06
Funded by TUC Aid and the Trade Union Unit Trust Charitable Trust
This project will help expand the capacity of trade unionists in Cameroon to influence talks on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and related protocols to promote decent work, oversee the implementation of the agreement, and flag any harmful effects on workers.
The project is being delivered by ITUC-Africa and its four affiliates, Confédération des Syndicats Autonomes du Cameroun (CSAC), Confédération Syndicale des Travailleurs du Cameroun (CSTC), Unions des Syndicats Libres du Cameroun (USLC) and Confederation des Services Publics (CSP). This project is part of a wider ITUC Africa project involving nine other African countries, which is funded by the Finnish trade union centre SASK.
Project activities include
Year 1
- Online baseline survey of Cameroonian trade union centres’ capacity to influence trade negotiations.
- Training run for 25 trade union representatives from Cameroon’s trade unions on influencing AfCFTA talks and how to highlight concerns about its implementation. Women and young people would be particularly prioritised for this training (quota of 40% women). Translation will be provided.
- Trade unions in Cameroon develop, launch and sustain their advocacy campaigns.
- Strengthened alliances and joint statements developed between trade unions in Cameroon with other civil society allies on AfCFTA
- Meetings between Cameroonian trade unions and government, African Union and AfCFTA secretariat representatives.
- Trade unions monitor and evaluate the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Year 2
- Trade unions in Cameroon sustain their advocacy campaigns
- Joint statements developed between trade unions in Cameroon and with other civil society allies on AfCFTA
- Meetings between Cameroonian trade unions and government, African Union and AfCFTA secretariat representatives.
- Trade unions monitor and evaluate the implementation of the AfCFTA.
- Online regional meeting of African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (OSTAC) to coordinate lobbying on AfCFTA negotiations and implementation.
- Trade unions from Cameroon participate in the final SASK-ITUC-Africa project conference bringing together all countries participating in the project with representatives from their governments and possibly the AfCFTA Secretariat
Expected project outcomes
- Increase capacity of trade unions in Cameroon to influence the negotiation of protocols of the AfCFTA.
- Increase capacity of trade unions in Cameroon to be lobby for effective involvement in bodies to oversee the implementation of the AfCFTA.
- Develop more collaboration between trade unions across Central Africa to lobby for trade union objectives.
- Develop more continental collaboration between unions in Africa to lobby for trade union objectives.
- Strengthen alliances with like-minded civil society organisations.
Progress report Jan - March 2024
- Meeting of the leadership of the four national trade union centres to discuss successful project implementation
- Collaboration between ITUC Africa and the national coordination team to prepare for the national capacity building workshop in April – at this workshop trade union officers will be trained in ways to influence trade talks
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