The EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements with Africa: ‘Decent Work’ and the challenge of trade union solidarity

Abstract

The European Union (EU) has in recent years adopted the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Agenda in its external trade and development policy. It is portrayed as a way to mitigate any negative impacts on labour. However, African trade unions have campaigned against the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). It is argued that their stance highlights the limitations of incorporating the Decent Work Agenda into trade agreements, which, instead, are seen as central to the process of entrenching economic liberalisation. As a result, the article considers the prospects for transnational labour solidarity to resist EPAs.

Keywords:

• ACP
• labour
• Southern Africa
• trade and growth
• neoliberalisation

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Mark Langan and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. Any remaining shortcomings are in no way their responsibility.

Notes

1. For details, see Hughes and Haworth, The International Labour Organisation, 61–72.

2. Anner, “The Paradox of Labour Transnationalism,” 74.

3. Van den Putte and Orbie, “EU Bilateral Trade Agreements,” 265–9.

4. See International Labour Organisation, “Decent Work.”

5. Ibid., 13.

6. Hughes and Haworth, The International Labour Organisation, 75.

7. International Labour Organisation, ILO Declaration on Social Justice.

8. Maupain, The Future of the International Labour Organization, 54–6.

9. Decent work was belatedly included in the MDGs in 2007 but it remained a goal based more on aspiration, in comparison to the other MDGs.

10. Fukuda-Parr, “From the Millennium Development Goals,” 44.

11. This is one of 17 SDGs agreed at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. Goal 8 includes an extensive list of contributory targets including ‘increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries’. For further details see http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/.

12. Teichman, The Politics of Inclusive Development, 14.

13. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Economic Report on Africa 2013, 61.

14. Orbie and Tortell, “From the Social Clause to the Social Dimension,” 9.

15. Öniş and Şenses, “Rethinking the Emerging,” 281.

16. Ryder, “Decent Work Key.”

17. United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2015, 23.

18. European Commission, The Social Dimension of Globalisation, 2.

19. Lamy, “Globalisation and Trade.”

20. Orbie, “Work in Progress,” 285.

21. European Commission, Promoting Decent Work for All, 8.

22. European Union, “Partnership Agreement between the Members of the African,” 23.

23. Orbie, “Work in Progress,” 288.

24. In the cases of the other five ACP sub-regions that are negotiating EPAs, any agreements that have been concluded so far include a commitment to continue negotiations in this area.

25. See Manners, “Normative Power Europe.”

26. Ibid., 242.

27. Sjursen, “What Kind of Power?” 170.

28. Hurt, “The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations,” 497.

29. European Commission, Global Europe.

30. Bieler, “The EU, Global Europe,” 164.

31. Langan, “Normative Power Europe and the Moral Economy,” 253.

32. Hurt, “The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations,” 499.

33. European Commission, Trade for All, 24.

34. Langan and Scott, “The Aid for Trade Charade,” 158.

35. Langan, “Decent Work and Indecent Trade,” 23.

36. Orbie, “Promoting Labour Standards through Trade,” 182.

37. Langan, “Decent Work and Indecent Trade.”

38. EPA negotiations were initially launched in 2002 but during the first phase they were conducted with the ACP group of states as a whole.

39. The end of 2007 deadline was when the WTO’s waiver for the non-reciprocal trade preferences enjoyed by ACP states was set to expire. At this point an interim EPA agreement covering only the trade in goods was concluded instead.

40. The SADC EPA was signed by Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland (the five member states of the Southern African Customs Union) and Mozambique. Angola was directly involved in the negotiations and has the option to join the EPA in the future. The remaining eight member states of SADC have been involved in other EPA negotiating groups.

41. European Union, “Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union,” 8.

42. Ibid., 9.

43. Malmström, “EU-SADC EPA.”

44. Tempest, “MEPs Approve Trade Deal.”

45. Godsäter, “Civil Society and Regional Trade,” 122.

46. Hurt, “What’s Left of ‘the Left’” 11.

47. Buhlungu, A Paradox of Victory, 6.

48. ITUC-Africa, “ITUC-Africa Statement on EPAs.”

49. COSATU, “Zwelinzima Vavi’s Speech to Policy Conference.”

50. COSATU, “SA Right to Resist EU Trade Blackmail.”

51. COSATU, “Zwelinzima Vavi Speech to LO Norway.”

52. For a discussion of the TDCA see Hurt, “A Case of Economic Pragmatism?”

53. COSATU, “COSATU Calls on the Department of Trade and Industry.”

54. Network of African Trade Unions, “African Trade Unions Statement.”

55. Toka, “The Ego has Landed?”

56. Sasman, “NUNW Backs Govt.”

57. Smit, “Transnational Labour Relations in SADC,” 21.

58. Hurt, “The Congress of South African,” 102.

59. Godsäter, “Civil Society and Regional Trade,” 125.

60. Ibid., 100.

61. Alternatives to Neo-liberalism in Southern Africa, The Search for Sustainable Human Development, 48–9.

62. Bieler and Morton, “Uneven and Combined Development,” 42.

63. Hurt, “The Congress of South African,” 95.

64. European Trade Union Confederation, “On the Communication ‘Global Europe’.”

65. European Trade Union Confederation, “Speaking Note for John Monks.”

66. Trades Union Congress, “Put Labour Standards and Development.”

67. Hilary, “European Trade Unions and Free Trade,” 50.

68. European Trade Union Confederation, “ITUC and ETUC Call on EU.”

69. Hilary, “European Trade Unions and Free Trade,” 48.

70. Dierckx, “European Unions and the Repoliticization.”

71. De Ville and Siles-Brügge, “Why TTIP is a Game-changer,” 5.

72. Trades Union Congress, “TUC Calls on MEPs.”

73. ITUC-Africa, “ITUC-Africa Statement on EPAs.”

74. International Trade Union Confederation, “Submission to the ‘Towards a New Partnership,” 14.

75. European Trade Union Confederation, “Swaziland – ETUC Letter.”

76. Action for Southern Africa, “Swaziland’s Downward Spiral,” 4.

77. This letter was signed by ITUC-Africa, SATUCC, ETUC, ITUC and national trade union federations in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland.

78. ITUC-Africa, “ITUCAf-ITUC-ETUC Letter to MEPs.”

79. See Hurt, “The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations”; Nunn and Price “Managing Development.”

80. For a summary of this distinction see Söderbaum, Rethinking Regionalism, 138–42.

81. Bieler, “From ‘Free Trade’ to ‘Fair Trade’,” 38.

82. Makgetla and van Meelis, “Trade and Development in South Africa,” 111.

83. Hilary, “European Trade Unions and Free Trade,” 52.