Like the strength of the working class in organization, “the will and rights of the masses of workers cannot be achieved without uniting and organizing their ranks and their struggle in strong organizations.” It led to the establishment of the International Confederation of Trade Unions in Asia and Africa, especially with the rise and growth of the independent labor movement. The workers in the continents of Asia and Africa demanded the establishment of an international federation that would bring them together due to the similarity of their circumstances, organizing the labor movement on the two continents and unifying their steps in the economic and social struggle and accordingly;
We, the workers and activists of the labor movement on the two continents, initiated the convening of the founding conference of the Federation in the Lebanese capital - Beirut on 10/12/2019, motivated by feelings of justice and humanity, gaining legitimacy from international conventions Nos. 87 and 98 issued by the International Labor Organization regarding freedom of association and protection of the right to organize as basic conventions Bound by the 1998 Universal Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
Looking forward to achieving protection and economic well-being, ensuring sustainable development, providing decent work for all, and developing and defending the rights of workers, whether they are immigrants or locals, especially women and youth, by respecting and promoting good industrial relations and implementing the basic principles of work and eliminating All forms of forced and compulsory labour, the effective elimination of child labor and the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation.
Determined that labor standards should not be used for protectionist trade purposes and that employment and achieving social justice should be at the heart of economic policies to avoid sharp economic fluctuations and achieve effective convergence between national and international policies to reach a fair and equitable globalization in order to move forward towards greater respect for the dignity of People and global prosperity.
We also announce our desire to create partnerships with all countries and economic actors, especially in a region characterized by the large size of the informal economy, with complex supply chains and unsafe jobs, and characterized by increased regulatory restrictions in the labor market and large numbers of people stuck in forced labor in factories. And farms and fishing boats.
We seek to work to meet the needs of peoples, families and communities in the two continents and help promote and achieve progress in the field of social justice in order to achieve full employment, and we work with all available means to take care of the economic and social interests of workers against the domination of capital.
We also seek to improve working conditions and conditions to protect workers from illnesses, diseases and injuries resulting from their work, protect children, juveniles and women, guarantee a pension for old age and disability, protect the interests of workers employed in countries other than their own, and affirm the principle of equal pay for equal work. Organizing technical and vocational education and working to raise their professional, cultural and living standards by various means.
We aim to develop and issue labor, social and economic legislation that contributes to improving the living conditions of workers in the two continents and in a manner that achieves justice in labor and social insurance systems and enables workers to obtain a fair share of the fruits of their profits and returns.
We point out our determination to defend trade union freedoms and to work by all appropriate means to strengthen the union movement and ensure freedom of opinion and expression and respect for rights and public freedoms and work to spread labor culture in a manner that ensures the consolidation of union awareness among workers.
At the forefront of our goals is to work on exchanging professional experiences with specialized local, Arab and international organizations and bodies, emphasizing the role of the trade union movement of the two continents in these forums, in cooperation with international labor organizations, and coordination and understanding with many trade union organizations, human rights defense associations and groups Civil society to confront the tyranny of globalization and the market economy that creeps into large areas in the world, especially the continents of Asia and Africa, and to unify the vision and position on structural adjustment programs, the prescriptions of the World Bank, financial houses, and global financial monopolies, believing in the right of peoples to self-determination and that Self-control. Article event
