Africa Projects
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Page context: Home > Education > Programmes/Activities > Africa Projects
Regional education projects often have sub regional and national components for which activities are carried out. These projects can either be industry specific or cross sectional. The ITF currently has the following projects in Africa, please click on the links below to go the desired project.
*Please note website links for the cooperating organisations can be found at the bottom of this page.
Industrial Projects
Building responses to Railway Restructuring in Kenya and Uganda
The Railway affiliates in both Uganda and Kenya are faced with joint concessioning of Uganda Railways Corporation and the Kenya Railways Corporation to a South African based private company.
The Governments of the two states agreed in 2005 to the joint concessioning of the railway system to a South African based private company known as Rift Valley Railways. The company would then manage both the operations, business and railway infrastructure as it deems fit. The business was to be taken over in August 2006. The trade unions were kept in the dark and were picking just bits of unofficial information from workplace corridors. Both unions had to resort to legal action to try and ensure that their members got their rights and benefits. However, the unions now have to deal with a consortium which is hostile to unions. The unions has to be in a position to respond to proposed new terms of operation which impact on the members, in terms of the contractual rights and the unions's overall strength in the railways and ability to organise outsourced workers.
Therefore the project aims to:
- To gather information to enhance the capacity of union executive committees to understand and analyse the ongoing concessioning of the railways in Uganda and Kenya, and the impact on labour.
- To develop a coherent strategy addressing key union issues which includes the active involvement of existing and new trade union members.
- To build links and coordination between the railway unions in Uganda and Kenya.
Target Countries: Kenya and Uganda
Project period: 2007-8
Cooperating Organisations: ITF german speaking affiliates:- Transnet, GdEÖ, SEV
SASK Africa Road Transport Organising Project
The road transport industry in Africa is growing fast: an increasing number of private companies are emerging due to privatisation. This process if fuelled by the effects of globalisation (liberalisation, privatisation, casualisation). Most of the private companies are hostile towards trade unions. Many workers are forced into informal workplaces.
The aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of unions to deal with the issues impacting upon the sector including the increasing informalisation of the sector, which then leads to lower union membership levels. Unions now having to address the needs of all road transport workers both in the formal - primarily private companies -and informal. The project aims to achieve the following:
- To enable unions to organise and service members effectively. It is anticipated that organising strategies will cover the following areas depending on each union’s priorities:
- General membership recruitment and servicing of members
- Women
- Informal workers
- Workers in multinationals
- Youth
- Strengthening membership participation in union activities
- To enable unions to improve collective bargaining (scope and quality) and enforce existing agreements. Areas of emphasis will vary depending on the union’s situation and circumstances, but will cover issues such as:
- Contracts
- Hours of work
- Resting periods
- Driver insurance
- To strengthen union capacity to campaign on issues such as police harassment, vehicle overloading and for the introduction of the single document system.
The main target group will be all African road transport affiliates, with more intensive activities amongst those affiliates wanting to develop and strengthen their organising strategy.
Target Group: African road transport affiliates
Cooperating organisation: SASK
Project Period: 2007-2009
Cross Sectional Projects
HIV/AIDS and transport workers in Africa
This is a continuation from previous ITF projects in Africa encouraging affiliates to recognise HIV/AIDS as a workplace and trade union issue. This project puts particular emphasis on the development of workplace policies and collective bargaining. The aim is to assist affiliates to devise strategies and to formulate workplace policies on HIV/AIDS for inclusion in collective bargaining agreements. This may range from information, education, communication strategies to access to anti-retroviral treatment. The ILO code of practice on HIV/AIDS in the world of work is an important reference.
As part of the project affiliates are encouraged to participate in other regional, sub regional and national projects sponsored by organisations such as WHO, World Bank etc in order to maximum their effectiveness in the workplace. Furthermore networking with local offices of the ILO, UNAIDS and other organisations is also encouraged in order to build the impact of unions in both the workplace and community.
HIV/AIDS project newsletter: The main function is to inform affiliates about achievements in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other project activities. In particular it covers affiliate activities including prevention initiatives, setting up of drop-in centres, peer education, voluntary counselling and testing, and information on workplace policies and collective agreements. Pictures, logos and other material produced by transport unions will be highlighted. The newsletter is produced in French and English. To view and download click here. Click here to download the newsletter- current and previous editions.
Education materials: An HIV/AIDS manual has been produced as part of this project to assist affiliates in developing strategies on HIV/AIDS. The manual includes basic information on HIV/AIDS and the transport industry, and initiatives which unions can take including the negotiation of workplace policies and collective agreements etc. Each chapter has a summary of the key information covered and also suggested education activities. Click here for to view and download
The project very much depends on the willingness of affiliates to go beyond awareness raising and to take concrete steps in the workplace.
The impact of HIV/AIDS on women is recognised as women are increasingly in the majority of those infected and living with HIV/AIDS. A project worker has been hired to deal with both the francophone region and to encourage affiliates to make the feminisation of HIV/AIDS an integral part of their strategies.
Project Co-ordinator: Romano Ojiambo-Ochieng
Project Consultant: Geneviève Mukandekezi
Cooperating organisation: FNV Mondiaal
Project Period: 2004-2006 extended 31 Dece 2007. The Project is now completed.
Click here for HIV/AIDS website
Africa Women’s project Phase 2
A long-term women’s education project was completed in December 2005, with the possibility of further projects from 2006 onwards focusing on industrial issues for women workers. The main objectives of the ITF’s women’s education programme thus far includes:
- Recruitment of new women members
- Building of women activists in unions
- Recognition of women’s structures in union constitutions
- Development of women’s skills and techniques to improve workplace status and conditions.
- Inclusion of women workers’ issues in collective bargaining agreements.
- Addressing the issue and consequences of retrenchment, particularly for women workers.
- Communication between women workers is improved and the ITF women’s network is built in the African region.
Target Group: Women
Cooperating Organisation: FNV Mondial
Project Period: 2002- 2004 extended December 2007.The Project is now completed.
Click here for more information on the ITF Women's Department.
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