TRES/003/4/2015: RESOLUTION ON THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN WORKERS

TRES/003/4/2015: RESOLUTION ON THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN WORKERS
We, the participants of the Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 56th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the 30th African Human Rights Book fair held in Banjul, The Gambia from 16th to 19th April 2015; Considering that African workers in many countries are denied the right to form or join independent trade unions in law or in practice; Considering that trade union leaders and activists have suffered acts ofviolence by state security forces and private employers, including death, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention and threats for carrying out legitimate trade union activity, and that perpetrators of these crimes are rarely arrested or prosecuted; Considering that workers are routinely dismissed for their trade union activity and are denied effective recourse for this illegal retaliation; Considering that collective measures, such as pickets and strikes, are severely limited or banned in many countries; Considering that many workers in the informal economy are not covered at all by the labour codes of most countries in Africa; Consideringthat theabsence of workers’ rights creates a highly unequal relationship between workers and employers, with the latter trapped in low-wage, dangerous work; Recognising that trade union rights are human rights; Recognising that the large majority of African countries have ratified International Labour Organization Convention 87; Recognising that Article 10 of the African Charter protects the right to freedom of association for workers and their organizations; Call upon the African Commission to: a) Reaffirm that Article 10 of the African Charter, particularly in light of Articles 60 and 61 of same, isto be interpreted consistent with Convention 87 of the International Labour Organization (on the right to freedom of association and to organize)
b) Call on Member States to bring their laws and regulations into compliance with the right to freedom of association as soon as possible and to respect those laws in practice, as obligated by the international instruments which they have ratified or by virtue of their membership in the International Labour Organization; c) Regularly collaborate with the International Labour Organization to follow-up on the recommendations of the supervisory system relating to African member states as they relate to freedom of association; d) Work with trade unions to promote and protect the rights to freedom of association within the mandates of the African Commission; e) Ensure that the Study Group on Freedom of Association in Africa includes trade union representatives and that the scope of the study is expanded to include freedom of association in the trade union context; f) Organise a thematic hearing on the right to freedom of association in the trade union context during the October sitting of the African Commission in 2015;
Done in Banjul, The Gambia – 19th April, 2015