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panel 18

LABOUR DYNAMICS IN AFRICA: PAST AND PRESENT

 

CONVENOR:

  • ZJOS VLAMINCK, AFRICAN STUDIES CENTRE, LEIDEN (z.vlaminck@ascleiden.nl)
  • STEFANO BELLUCCI, IISH AMSTERDAM, (sbe@iisg.nl)

 

DISCUSSANT:

  • MOHAMED SALIH, INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES, THE HAGUE (salih@iss.nl)

 

In the light of Africa’s booming economies, it has become increasingly urgent to consider such growth from a labour perspective. Although the Decent Work agenda is gaining importance, questions about the extent to which labour can benefit from the current economic boom in Africa remain largely unanswered. This panel aims at attracting research papers on the African labour research agenda, and more specifically on the following issues: •The remarkable continuity in many African labour markets (large informal sector, dependency on primary resources, the precarity of workers as well as the limited engagement of governments) despite the current economic growth;•The struggles (and in some cases reluctance) of trade unions in organizing precarious and informal workers, especially the self-employed; •The questionable relevance of the Decent Work Agenda for Africa: a good objective but not that effective as a means? •The impact of new global powers, such as China and India, on African labour markets and labour conditions; •The changing roles of trade unions on the continent and the challenges they face ‘post structural adjustment'of finding a well-defined ideology and identity; •The articulation of social dialogue and collective bargaining processes in Africa and the influence of (colonial) history on these processes; •The dynamics in international solidarity mechanisms, and the nature of the relationship between trade unions and civil society organisations that may strongly differ across countries. The panel organizers aim at attracting students on subjects that are part of their research collaborative projects: the ‘Labour Issues and Trade Unions in Africa Today’ at the African Studies Centre of Leiden and the ‘Global Labour History’ project at the International Institute of Social History of Amsterdam.

PAPERS: