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15 - African Perspectives on Labor Rights as Enhancers of Democratic Governance

from Part IV - Country and Regional Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2022

By
Evance Kalula  and
Chanda Chungu
Edited by
Angela B. Cornell  and
Mark Barenberg
Angela B. Cornell
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Mark Barenberg
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
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Summary

The importance of the struggle for labor rights and challenges to democracy in Africa can be linked to the decolonization process in the 1960s. Trade union formations had relative collective capacity to support agitation for political emancipation. The post-colonial relationship between labor movements and the state have been a mixed experience. We explore the role of labor rights as enhancers of democratic governance in Africa, using several countries as proxies for the continent. Exploration is informed largely by the ILO’s recent Centenary reflections, the link between labor rights and social justice, issues canvassed by the Global Commission on the Future of Work. The Commission provided a basis for continuing reflection among scholars and policy makers. It culminated in a rejuvenation and renewal of ILO mandate at the Centenary International Labor Conference, 2019.

Keywords

democracyAfricachallengesfreedom of associationlabor rightstrade unionsILO
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Labor and Democracy , pp. 250 - 262
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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