In Africa, the Solidarity Center strives to help build the labor movement and promote worker rights by organizing workers and strengthening their voice at the bargaining table; protecting their rights on the job; ending the scourge of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking; and stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS through workplace policies.
 |
In sharp contrast with its rich natural resources, Africa counts 32 of the 38 least developed countries. It is the only continent where poverty levels have increased despite higher growth rates. HIV/AIDS has ravaged the population, and those who survive are losing their jobs. Governments, multinational corporations, and international financial institutions are selling out worker rights in the name of globalization. To combat these multifaceted challenges, the Solidarity Center’s Africa programs focus on common themes and uniform campaigns while at the same time adapting to the needs of a diverse group of countries.
Find out how the Solidarity Center is teaming up with unions to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and worldwide.
Border Jumpers. Bernard Pollack and Danielle Nierenberg are traveling all over Africa, checking out worker rights issues and visiting Solidarity Center field staff and partners. Read selected posts from their blog, Border Jumpers.
Shona Sculptors Are Part of Zimbabwe's Union Movement. Shona sculptors in Zimbabwe are part of a 2 million member association of informal workers created by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, a longtime Solidarity Center partner.
Somali Journalists Win Democracy Award. The World Movement for Democracy (WMD) recently recognized the Solidarity Center’s partner, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), with its annual Democracy Courage Award.
Reaching Out to Artisan Miners in the DRC. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mining is the top growth industry.
Education in the DRC: Keeping Children Out of the Mines. For $30, a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can attend school for one year, thanks to a unique Solidarity Center partnership with schools, communities, and local and national governments.
Hotel and Tourism Workers Help Fight Human Trafficking in Kenya. In the coastal city of Mombasa, where tourism is the main industry, the Solidarity Center trained shop stewards from a hotel and service workers union about the danger signs of human trafficking.
U.S. Steelworkers, Nigerian Oil Workers: Partners in Health and Safety. In April 2008, a group of trainers from the
United Steelworkers union (USW) traveled to Nigeria to conduct a week of occupational health and safety workshops for oil workers.
South African Union Ties HIV/AIDS to Bargaining. The Solidarity Center’s partnerships with South African unions ensure that HIV/AIDS issues remain at the forefront of every workplace contract negotiation, policy, and practice.
Zimbabwean Union Leaders Arrested in Peaceful Protest. The Zimbabwean government arrested 70 union leaders and activists who were delivering petitions to banks in a nationwide solidarity action to protest the financial unraveling of Zimbabwe’s economy.
Breakthrough for Africa Telecom Workers. Leaders of four communications unions in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa signed a groundbreaking resolution to cooperate on common concerns in order to organize workers in multinational telecom companies across Africa.
Truckers Join Campaign to Prevent HIV/AIDS. As a partner in ROADS, the Solidarity Center is helping truckers along the East Africa transport corridor take responsibility and take action to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Southern Africa Exchange Program (May 2005). North Carolina AFL-CIO President James Andrews said that his experience had changed the way he sees the world.
Solidarity Center Publications
Learn More
