Implementing what we are committed to

by Kathrin Meissner

"We have to get better in implementing the labour and social standards that we have committed to," said Dr. Baerbel Kofler, the German Parliamentary State Secretary, during a discussion with representatives from the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Nairobi, Kenya. This was the central theme of a meeting on 30 May 2024 focused on enhancing compliance with labour standards in infrastructure projects funded by Bi- and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).

Deplorable working conditions in the construction sector

Construction workers in many African countries are subjected to violations of their rights in many ways: no occupational health and safety provisions in place, union busting, sexual harassment, non-compliance with minimum wages and many more. Over the last years, BWI and its affiliates have intensified their efforts to improve conditions and to organize workers. A regional support network by BWI and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Trade Union Competence Center (FES TUCC) was launched in 2016. Despite many challenges including high worker turnover, which complicates organizing efforts, progress has been made. Not least, because the unions are holding MDBs accountable to ensure that their own safeguards are implemented.

Multilateral Development Banks and Labour Standards

MDBs provide large sums in loans to infrastructure projects in developing countries, involving a vast number of workers. These funds go to both public entities and private companies. Trade unions have successfully advocated MDBs to put in place safeguards based on the core ILO labour standards. These requirements are binding through their incorporation into the legal loan documents between the MDBs and the borrowers. However, according to the testimonials of construction workers unions of Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia present in the meeting, these standards are often violated by the contractors and the monitoring and complaint mechanisms of the MDBs are insufficient. Furthermore, the trade unions present reported cases where both the borrower and the MDB were not responsive when violations were reported to them.

Making Trade Unions an integral part of infrastructure projects

“No to exploitation in the name of development!” stated Garikanai Shoko, Assistant Regional Representative of BWI, and all participants agreed. The trade unions claimed a stronger role for themselves in the planning phase of projects and in the continous monitoring. Even though so-called stakeholder consultations are part of the planning phases, trade unions are often not included, because no workers will have been employed at that stage. Oftentimes,

monitoring missions of MDBs do not contact the local unions to find out about working conditions. Yet, it is highly unlikely to find out about violations during pre-arranged site-visits. The participants agreed that MDBs should listen much more to trade unions if they are serious about ensuring that their safeguards do not only exist on paper.

Dr. Baerbel Kofler stressed the power-imbalance between governments and contractors on the one hand and workers and unions on the other hand. She therefore emphasized the responsibilities of the MDBs to actively seek out information from trade unions at the different project stages.

More cooperation for better outcomes

The AfDB and BWI have been in talks to intensify their cooperation and to conduct joint inspections of constructions sites in future. BWI-Asia and the Asian Development Bank have successfully started this type of cooperation. After all, the effectiveness of these safeguards depends on active use. Both BWI and AfDB, however, will need more resources to carry out comprehensive inspections, which was recognized by all attending the meeting. The representative of the German Development Bank KfW demonstrated openness to engage further with the trade unions and to consider mechanisms for more structured involvement of labour. It was further stressed, that transparent loan agreements are key for trade unions to become active even before project approval so that they can raise concerns about potential labour rights violations.

Together for the implementation of binding standards

The cases of severe violations of workers rights that the trade unions presented, demonstrate that many employers will exploit their workers if no one stops them. Therefore, it is crucial that the creation of decent work conditions is not left to their benevolence. Instead clear and binding regulations have to be put in place to protect workers. However, this is only the first step. Ensuring that standards are respected and implemented requires at least as much effort. Mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that trade unions, together with other stakeholders, are reliably and consistently involved in planning and monitoring processes.

The discussions demonstrated that close cooperation between trade unions, development banks, policymakers and other stakeholders is crucial for improving compliance with labour and social standards in African infrastructure projects. After all, safe working conditions are not a luxury but a non-negotiable element of universal human rights – to the benefit of workers and as an important contribution to sustainable development in African countries.