Poverty is one of the main obstacles to social progress. Poverty has been a bane of humanity for almost all of the recorded history. For a long time poverty has come to be accepted as a permanent feature of human existence without attracting the moral indignation that it deserves.

Pervasive poverty, inequality and underdevelopment have grown and spread to such an extent that they are now perceived as one of the deadly threats to political stability, social cohesion, and the environmental health of the planet. Indeed, as we start a new century and millennium, poverty remains a global problem of huge proportions. The World Bank conservatively estimates that more than one billion people in the world live in abject poverty and that more than 700 million men and women are not productively employed. They have limited access to income, infrastructural resources, education, health care and nutrition. They are also powerless, voiceless, vulnerable and live in constant fear.

Unlike any other region in the world, African economies have experienced little structural transformation to warrant any significant dent in the poverty quagmire. One of the major manifestations of this problem is limited export diversification. Most countries in Africa remain highly dependent on primary production and export. In the World Bank’s classification of economies by major export categories, not a single African country belongs to the "exporters of manufactures" league. On the other hand, 26 are listed as "exporters of non-fuel primary products" (World Bank 1996, 53-54). In most cases, export earnings are dominated by one commodity in several countries. Indeed, reliance on one or two low-value agricultural export commodities has left African economies extremely vulnerable to volatility in commodity prices. Worst of all, this is a clear reflection of the underdevelopment of the continent’s manufacturing industry, as export performance in manufactures is a powerful indicator of productivity and competitiveness.

Although about 44% of Africa’s population live below the region-wide poverty line of $39 per capita per month, the depth and incidence of poverty varies between and within sub-regions (ECA 1999). In the North African sub-region, only 22% are under the poverty line of $54 per capita per month, while Sub-Saharan Africa has 51% below the poverty line of $34 per capita per month. The highest incidence of poverty in the ECA’s 1999 study was recorded for Guinea Bissau, where 70% of the population lived below a poverty line of $26 per person per month, Niger (68%), Tanzania (67%), Zambia (60%), Guinea (56%), Senegal (51%), Madagascar (50%), Kenya (50%), Lesotho (48%), and South Africa (44%). The lowest incidence of poverty was reported in Algeria, with 15% of the population living below a poverty line of $74 per person per month (ECA 1999).

Efforts towards alleviating poverty have been disappointingly slow in many developing countries and the relative gap between the richest and poorest countries has continued to widen. In Africa, it is estimated that the level of real per capita income today is lower than it was 30 years ago. This represents both huge amounts of unnecessary human suffering and an enormous squandering of human potential.

Among the earliest strategies to combat poverty include the conventional economic growth based on the assumption that if the national output expanded, social groups and classes in society would be lifted up automatically and thus begin to enjoy high standards of living. It was further assumed that growth incentives would go initially to those at the top of the economic ladder, only indirectly benefiting those at the bottom by a "trickle down" process (Kuznets 1955). The analytical emphasis is placed on factors that increase the level or the price of the outputs of the poor. Increasing output entails increasing the volume, distribution and productivity of the factor output. The output is a function of the factors of production (land, labour, capital and technology). Later studies found that a 1% increase in average real household incomes was associated with a 2% decline in the poverty incidence. Closely following Kuznet’s economic logic, as countries become richer, on average the incidence of income poverty tends to fall. Just as income poverty declines as average incomes increase, so does non-income poverty in such sectors as health, education and social infrastructure.

Empirical investigation, nonetheless, discounts this view and notes that while economic growth may increase the overall living standards it may actually fail to benefit the destitute and the poorest of the poor. These are often unable to undertake wage employment due to inadequate education and training, disability, infirmity, or the need to care for dependants. As some studies have indicated, economic growth accounts (statistically) for only 35-50% of poverty reduction, which attests to the importance of other explanatory factors (UN 1998, 51).

Recognising these contradictions, the perspective of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its social partners, including workers’ organisations, is that two interlinked issues constitute the core of social disquiet in most countries: poverty and social exclusion. Hence, a major feature of the work of the ILO throughout much of its existence is that there should be a close interdependence between economic and social policies.

The ILO’s concern on issues of poverty dates back to at least 1944, when the Declaration of Philadelphia (which concerns the aims and purposes of the Organisation) stated that "Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere." This is what gave the ILO an explicit mandate to help fight poverty in the world, thus making it one of the earlier UN agencies charged with addressing the problem.

Various new approaches to poverty reduction promoted by bilateral and multilateral organisations are now in the initial implementation stage, building on the traditional emphasis on macroeconomic and structural soundness. This study argues that the fight against poverty will only be sustained and won if due consideration is given to the presence and strength of institutional arrangements for consultation and negotiation. In other words, it is paramount to intensively and most directly involve those affected by the ongoing social and economic transformations: workers and their communities.

Based on this premise, workers’ organisations believe that the international financial institutions are now also stressing the importance of country ownership of the poverty reduction strategy. The growing concern for country ownership, including through the involvement of civil society, is intended to reduce the risk of slippages in implementation as the countries themselves take greater responsibility for the design and success of their economic plans.

The trade union movement strongly believes that the best approach to the eradication of poverty is through social dialogue. Trade unions see the lasting solution to addressing poverty in reviving the productive sectors of the economy and creating jobs. The starting point is to come up with a framework for labour market policy that will fit in the overall macro-economic policy framework.

There are several ways in which trade unions contribute to poverty alleviation. Meaningful dialogue with workers’ organisations throughout the process of structural adjustment and economic reforms could facilitate implementation, particularly in privatisation and public sector restructuring projects. Collective bargaining for productivity-related wage increases is the most direct contribution of trade unions to poverty reduction, and that union members include the working poor in Africa and that incomes in the organised sector of the economy are often supporting a number of extended family members.

In addition to their economic role as workers, trade unions take on a social policy and human development role as well. Trade unions in Africa are proactively involved in a number of human development campaigns: raising awareness and monitoring child labour; promoting gender equity; providing education and training for members; improving national government accountability and fighting corruption; protesting against arms proliferation and aiding in conflict resolution; and raising members’ awareness about HIV/AIDS. Recent initiatives involve organising workers in the informal sector and providing training in entrepreneurial and other skills. Trade unions are also instrumental in pressuring their governments to adopt employment-intensive economic policies and adequate social protection schemes.

Unions cannot meaningfully contribute to poverty alleviation if the atmosphere in which they operate does not facilitate the exercise of their right to associate and collectively bargain. If allowed to operate in an atmosphere devoid of fear, unions could do a lot to complement the efforts of other development actors. Through strengthening union structures, capacity-building educational activities and policy formulation, unions call on their members to be involved in national development programmes. Trade unions in Africa have been calling for the institutionalisation of high-level national stakeholder structures in which major economic and social policy issues are articulated. In such organs, trade union views, along with those of other stakeholders, are shaped through consensus and dialogue. Such structures could be instrumental in checking the excesses of corruption, allocation of tenders, nepotism, and so on. The experience of the National Economic Development and Labour Advisory Council (NEDLAC) of South Africa could be taken advantage of.

Union membership is all-encompassing. In Africa, union membership is drawn from the working-women and men, the informal sector, the youth and the rural sector. Besides representing the working poor, the workers’ organisations are also cognisant of the traditional African extended family, which makes the trade union mandate even broader. As part of a vigilant civil society, unions do not only represent the interests of their book membership, but also speak for the entire society, especially in situations where government efforts are not adequate.

The traditional role of trade unions stipulate collective bargaining as a means of determining wages and other forms of working conditions, since workers are entitled to decent working and living conditions. Better housing, health and safety conditions, education for the children, and income distribution – the very factors used in assessing the levels of poverty in a given population – have been attributed to the collective efforts of unions.

Africa has the highest percentage of children who are forced by circumstances to participate in economic activities at their vulnerable ages as compared to other continents. Arguably, poverty is both a cause and consequence of poverty. The participation of children in economic activities aggravates poverty by degrading the stock of human capital necessary for economic development as it simultaneously increases unemployment and underemployment of adults. Unions are aware that child labour is exploitative, detrimental, hazardous and abusive, thus affecting the children’s overall physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. It is discriminatory and inconsistent with democracy, human rights and social justice as it adds to the burden and disadvantage of individuals and groups already among the socially excluded, while benefiting those who are privileged. In Africa’s case, fighting child labour is a major contributor to fighting poverty.

Poverty studies have shown that women are at a more disadvantaged position vis-à-vis their male counterparts. Women have had their statuses enhanced as a result of membership of unions. Unions have sought to involve women in all spheres of the trade unions. Education programmes and activities that ensure women’s participation in national development have been part and parcel of the trade union movement. Unions have been known to fight for the rights of women at all levels in society.

Furthermore, unions have been involved in uplifting the poverty situation in their respective communities through the three catchwords – good governance, democracy and transparency. It is the belief of unions that social ills can only be tackled if the atmosphere is conducive enough for all stakeholders to air out their views. Unions give a voice to the voiceless through their continued campaign for democratic principles in society. Trade unions are a logical consequence of freedom of association and have often played instrumental roles in laying the foundations for democracy in many countries: by expanding civil liberties and by providing the vehicles by which people become acquainted with the democratic way of doing things.

In order to devise suitable policies to ensure the alleviation of poverty through social dialogue, it is necessary to acquire a clearer understanding of the nature of the linkages that exist between social dialogue institutions and trade unions in the selected countries. It is recognisable that weaknesses, strengths, and how and under what conditions social dialogue is practised vary among countries and within sectors in a country. So, it is imperative to investigate various selected economic sectors in the countries. The purpose here will be to identify the incentives, rules and actors shaping their creation, functioning and dynamics, and assessing the constraints undermining their potential of efficient and responsive "voice" institutions. It will also chart innovative and enabling mechanisms of negotiation and broad-based social dialogue involving trade unions and the wider civil society.

Economic Commission for Africa. 1999. Economic report on Africa 1999: The challenge of poverty reduction and sustainability. United Nations: Addis Ababa.

Kuznets, Simon. 1968. Toward a theory of economic growth.

ILO. 1944. Declaration concerning the aims and purpose of the International Labour Organization, Philadelphia.

World Bank. 1996. World development report 1996. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

United Nations. 1995. Report of the World Summit on Social Development. New York: United Nations.