Workers, Unions, and Development in Africa

Extract

The International Studies Programme of the University of Toronto sponsored a conference on this topic from 6 to 8 April 1973, with participants not only from Canada, but also from Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main aim was to assess the extent to which both radical and liberal writers are correct in ascribing to the working class a fairly passive rôle in Africa's economic and political development. In selecting the 13 papers for presentation, an attempt was made to provide a balanced coverage of Africa south of the Sahara, although Nigeria justifiably received the greatest attention. The discussions were particularly rewarding because of the presence of seven scholars and trade union leaders from West and East Africa, as well as a number of Canadian union officials who had served as advisers in Africa. The attendance of such an array of expertise was only possible because of the generosity of the University of Toronto, the Canada Council, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Canadian National Office of the United Steelworkers of America.