In September, the corridor unions produced the Northern Corridor Workers Memorandum, with support from the ITF Africa regional office. Its key demands include issuing truckers with employment contracts; practical government guarantees for workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining; the building and upgrading of safe stop centres along the corridor to improve security and working conditions for truckers working excess hours; employers’ insurance of truckers’ lives and health; and professional training for drivers to increase women’s and young workers' participation in the trucking industry.
NCTTCA executive Donat Bagula welcomed the unions and expressed shock that while they were working hard to promote the free movement of goods and people in the corridor, they had not been properly involved. He promised to arrange follow-up meetings and lobby inter-governmental authorities to take workers’ contributions very seriously.
He said the NCTTCA had researched appropriate spots to build 167 safe stop centres but the task was enormous, and he urged the unions to help encourage the participation of local and foreign investors, including workers' co-operatives.
ITF Africa regional secretary Joe Katende commented: “Only new approaches, initiatives and enthusiasm will change the fate of workers in the regional trading blocks of Africa, where foreign investors are given preferential treatment. Everything is fast tracked for easy trade but nothing is fast tracked for the exploited workers and their trade unions. Even the labour rights in these countries’ constitutions are mainly for window shopping only.”
The affiliates have also shared the memorandum with the ILO regional office for east Africa, heads of states and key ministers in the five countries.
