Metalworkers from Africa and Europe discuss EPAs and industrial jobs for Africa

AFRICA: The leaders of metalworkers' unions affiliated to the IMF in Europe and in 14 countries of English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa, and the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) met in Johannesburg, South Africa, on September 21 to 23 to discuss the repercussions of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and African countries on jobs and industrialization in developing and emerging countries.

The role of Africa in world trade as a key provider of commodities - energy and minerals - and as a great market for the increasing expansion of China was analyzed. Concerns were expressed by the African participants about the pressure put by the EU on African governments in the ongoing EPAs negotiations to obtain market openings in sectors either with high labour intensity or of strategic importance for their social and development policies. The predictable consequence would be a serious loss of policy space for the African countries, and their employment and industrial development policies would thus be severely undermined.

Interestingly participants from industrial countries, such as Canada, pointed at similar concerns behind the trade unions' negative assessment of the potential impact of an FTA between their country and the EU. Also India's experience with trade liberalization was thoroughly analyzed with conclusions about a possible EU-India FTA that echoed the concerns expressed by African and European participants.

Criticism was expressed for the EU insistence on the introduction in EPAs of clauses, e.g. the MFN (most favoured nation), that would seriously undermine Africa's prospects for South-South cooperation and its choice of other trade partners. Furthermore, the EU strategy to negotiate separately with African countries is undermining Africa's efforts towards a much needed regional integration that is crucial in particular for the integration of productive chains and for industrialization. In this respect a thorough analysis of the experience of trade unions in Latin America with regional integration processes was presented.

At a round table with the South African Government the representative of the Department of Trade and Industry presented the new trade policy framework that focuses on the strategic integration of targeted trade liberalization measures with industrial policy objectives. Tariff policy, in this context, becomes an instrument of industrial policy. The framework, based on the safeguard of South Africa's policy space in multi- and bi-lateral negotiations, on South-South relations, and on the objective of decent work, is inspired by an integration model of developmental regionalism. The development of regional value chains with the building of industrial complementarity is still possible for Africa in the globalization era. A new approach is being put in place in the economic relationship with China. The representative of the Department for Economic Development underlined the successful creation of two million new jobs; these however are not in manufacturing but in services, that are accessible to the rich. This reflects a growing income disparity that needs to be addressed urgently. Furthermore social measures must be adopted together with industry development policies to ensure an income to the unemployed while industry jobs are created - which takes time. All development policy measures need to be thought of in an integrated manner and inequality has to be addressed at the same time. Regional development objectives cannot be addressed by slogans and realistic measures have to be adopted to manage the transition without loosing jobs.

All participants, particularly from African and European countries, agreed on the need to establish a permanent dialogue between the metalworkers in countries involved in EPA negotiations to urgently address all aspects that are potentially detrimental to workers and to look jointly for fair compromise solutions to possible conflicts of interest between the workers of the concerned countries. Regional and international trade union bodies were asked to facilitate such search for solidarity. The African delegates proposed that their European counterparts support with concrete initiatives the African countries' right to self-determination and that joint actions be put in place.