We are now reaching the conclusion of our historic event – the Global South Exchange – which has brought together 150 delegates from 20 different countries – and trade unionists from 15 countries across Africa.
I thank all the delegates – trade unionists and activists who have come to this Global South Exchange and contributed to the panels and intensive discussions. Our gathering here and our deliberations highlight the importance of our collective effort to strengthen the collective voice of workers, trade unions and the working-class in Africa and in the Global South.
I also thank comrades who have worked in the background to ensure a successful event. Comrades Sandra Khoza and Amogelang Diale have put in a huge amount of work over many weeks to ensure comrades got invitations, have transport and accommodation, got the T-shirts, bags and bottles, and secured this conducive venue. Thank you, comrades.
We also need to thank a number of other comrades who have put in work to ensure a successful event including: Tsakani Mkhabela, Mpho Tshikalange, Kholu Mopeli, Khanyisile Fakude, Benoni Mokgongoana, Zet Makeleng, David Bhengu and comrade Zanele Sabela and the communication team.
It is clear that while countries in Africa have been impoverished by our colonial past and the growth trajectories they set us on – we continue to experience high levels of inequality and poverty. New forms of colonial extraction and financing by the Global North – in the name of addressing climate change – further impoverish us and reproduce an inequal and unjust global social and economic order.
While climate change affects us all – it is us – workers and the poor in Africa and the Global South, that bear the highest costs. Millions are experiencing increased hunger and rising food prices as a result of droughts and floods. Workers get sick, injured and die when working in extreme levels of heat. Poor communities lose everything with increased levels of flooding, cyclones and other extreme weather events.
I want to reflect on a few key issues from the discussion that are worth emphasizing:
The transition should not only focus on shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy but must also prioritize workers’ control over energy resources. Energy democracy ensures that decisions on energy production and distribution are inclusive, promoting the participation of workers, communities, and unions in the governance of the energy sector.
There is a need for developmental climate finance models that support developing countries in Africa and in the Global South. We must continue to demand that the Global North fulfils its financial commitments to support sustainable transitions that benefit workers and communities, while also providing compensation for historical emissions as clearly outlined in the UNFCCC Paris Agreement.
It is most important that we put an end to job loss and retrenchments, the closure of power station and coal mines, in the name of ‘the just transition’. Such action cannot be just and we reject any attempts by bosses to cloak their attacks on workers and the working class as ‘greening the economy’. Equally important is that we create jobs and decent work to address high levels of unemployment, inequality and poverty. We need to ensure that no work is left behind and that we protect vulnerable workers in carbon intensive industries. We must continue to fight for skilling and reskilling, new jobs being creation, income protection and social security. While we fight to protect workers, we also need to continue to expand our struggle to protect communities – especially those at risk when mines and power plants are closed down by bosses who have no regard to the devastating impact on workers and the surrounding communities. COSATU emphasises that the transition must focus on economic justice, with a fair distribution of jobs, especially to youth, women, vulnerable workers and marginalized communities.
In order to strengthen our fight for climate justice, we need to continue to build solidarity – among unions in Africa and the Global South, and among workers of world. The Global South Exchange has helped us to strengthen alliances across borders to challenge global economic structures that perpetuate inequality and environmental degradation. Collective action, coordinated efforts, and joint campaigns are essential in pushing for systemic change at both the national and global levels. Solidarity in action helps us support and reinforce struggles waged and national and local level.
Most important, policies on Just Transition must be worker centred. Climate policies must integrate labour rights, job security, job creation and decent work, as well as and environmental sustainability. Governments of the Global South must adopt an approach that advances, implements and institutionalises a Just Transition framework that places workers voices and workers interests at the centre. They must advance a transition that benefits workers and communities, rather than one driven purely by profit-driven interests and geo-political ambitions of the countries of the Global North.
The challenge before us, as workers, is significant. As unions, we are used to hard struggle and having to fight to make any gains. When fighting for addressing climate change and advancing a Just Transition that benefits workers and the poor, we must continue to use our well tried tools – social dialogue, collective bargaining and mobilisation or mass action. We can only make gains at international, national and local level when we act in solidarity, with a collective voice and a collective purpose. Now, more than anytime before, we need to remember that united we stand, divided we fall.
Aluta Continua