Cotu plays key role in advancing workers agenda globally
By PD columnist, June 8, 2022For more than two decades now, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions in Kenya has taken a leading role, internationally, in advocating for the enhancement of the rights and welfare of workers. This has been witnessed by its increased representation and participation in the International Labour Conference (ILC), which meets once a year in June, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Founded in 1919, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a tripartite UN agency which brings together governments, workers and employers of 187 member states to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen social dialogue on work-related issues.
It is under this tripartite framework that, for instance, Cotu works together with the Ministry of Labour and the Federation of Kenyan Employers to enhance industrial peace.
In fostering the relations between tripartite and social partners, ILO has three organs—ILC, the Governing Body and the International Labour Office. It is under these organs that international labour conventions and recommendations are discussed and adopted for implementation by governments.
Noteworthy, Cotu has been represented in the ILC and the ILO governing body where it has been promoting the rights and welfare of workers. As its secretary general, it remains a great honour to continue serving workers, internationally, as a titular member of the ILO governing body where we meet thrice a year to, inter alia, make decisions on the ILO policy, decide on the agenda of the ILC, adopt the draft programme and budget of the ILO and also elect the ILO director general.
Having been entrusted by trade union leaders from Africa to hold the fort for them at the ILO Governing Body, I have continued championing for the full inclusion of trade unions within the ILO and also the inclusion and representation of Africa within leadership structures. These two priority areas for us have been met with opposition but at the same time impeccable results.
For instance, the outgoing ILO director general Guy Ryder, who was elected in October 2012 was the first to have been fronted by workers and with a background in trade unionism. Prior to his election, I worked with Ryder at the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) where he served as general secretary and I the vice chair.
Moreover, during the 344th session of the ILO Governing Body, Gilbert Houngbo became the first African to be elected as the DG. His election came after long years of agitation and organising among trade unionists from Africa where Cotu equally plays a major role.
Under the ILC, which is the ‘international parliament of labour’, Cotu has always represented African workers in various key committees where issues regarding the application of standards, apprenticeship, employment and decent work and social solidarity are discussed.
The agenda of this year’s 110th session of the ILC includes occupational safety and health, apprenticeships and social and solidarity economy. In the DG’s report, a keen focus is placed on the Least Developed Countries in view of ILO’s resolve of leaving no one behind.
In its participation, Cotu called upon the African governments, especially Kenya’s, to ensure migrant workers welfare and rights are protected through the adoption of bilateral agreements between governments as opposed to the use of employment agencies.
Cotu has placed a strong emphasis on migrant workers’ rights because, first, Kenya is a country of origin, transit and destination for many migrant workers in the region and, second, labour migration is a source of employment and livelihood for millions of migrant workers in the East and Horn of Africa.
As such, Cotu, through the East African Trade Union Confederation, has been calling upon both the EAC and Igad to harmonise the East African Common Market Protocol and the Free Movement of Persons Protocol which provide for free movement of labour within the region.
If Kenya goes ahead to enter into bilateral deals with other governments on migrant workers, many citizens working in different countries, especially the Middle East, will be granted diplomatic and social protection. The signing of the deals will also be a commitment, on the Kenyan government side, to protect Kenyans working abroad.
In dealing with the rise of precarious work and the ballooning informal sector, the Cotu delegation to the ILC has called for structural transformation which must be evidenced by deliberate steps taken by the Kenyan government in making conscious policy measures to uplift the welfare of those in the informal sector. This must include a focus on empowering TVETs and NITA, in training on skills and Recognition of Prior Learning.
— The writer is Cotu Secretary General