COSATU President Zingiswa Losi speech at Union Workshop on AfCFTA on 26 July 2025

Good morning, comrades, and a special warm welcome to our brothers and sisters who have travelled from other countries in Africa, to be here today.

It is an honour to stand before you today as we gather to discuss a critical issue that will shape the future of our continent-the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

This is not just a trade agreement; it is a political and economic project that has the potential to transform Africa. But exactly how it transforms Africa and the impact that is yet to be determined. It lies in our hands to make sure that and AfCFTA works for workers, the working class, and for people who are marginalized and living in poverty.

For us to shape our future, we, as unions, must engage on the AfCFTA - critically and strategically guided by one key principle - are we advancing the interests of the working class?

Comrades, AfCFTA is the largest free trade area in the world by the number of participating countries. It promises to boost intra-African trade, create jobs, and foster economic growth.

But we know that promises on paper do not always translate into reality for workers. If we, as unions, are not at the table, we will be on the menu.

Trade liberalisation without worker-centred policies can lead to job losses, wage suppression, and the erosion of labour rights. It can reinforce existing colonial and exploitative economic and power relations. We've seen this happen before with other trade agreements.

AfCFTA must not become another tool for multinational corporations to exploit cheap labour and extract wealth and resources from our continent. It must be a tool for development, industrialization, and the upliftment of African workers and the working class.

Our engagement is crucial if we are to ensure that our developmental agenda for AfCFTA is realised and that we expand employment, decent work, labour protections, social protection and living wages. We must demand that governments include unions in the negotiation and monitoring processes. We must push for policies that prioritize local and regional industries, advance regional industrial strategies and infrastructure development, protect vulnerable workers, and promote gender equity in the workplace.

Comrades, our concerns are not theoretical. The latest Oxfam report on inequality in Africa paints a stark picture: the richest 0.01% own more wealth than the bottom 50% of Africans combined. In South Africa, we are all too familiar with this reality-our country remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, with entrenched levels of extremely high unemployment and poverty levels at a crisis point.

Oxfam's report reminds us that economic growth alone is not enough. Without deliberate policies to redistribute wealth, challenge existing power relations, empower workers, and invest in public services, trade agreements like AfCFTA risk deepening inequality. We must ensure that AfCFTA is not just about profits and GDP, but about people-about jobs, about dignity, about justice.

Alongside this, the ITUC Global Rights Index continues to show that, Africa remains one of the most dangerous regions for workers' rights.

The Index highlights widespread violations: union-busting, attacks on the right to strike, and violence against union leaders.

In South Africa, we have seen attacks on striking workers and attempts to undermine collective bargaining. Across the continent, unionists face intimidation and repression. These realities must shape our engagement with AfCFTA. We must demand that the agreement includes strong, enforceable protections for workers' rights, and that governments are held accountable for upholding these rights.

Comrades, let us be clear: AfCFTA is being implemented in a global context that is not neutral. The world economy is dominated by imperialist powers and multinational corporations that seek to exploit Africa's resources and labour. Neocolonialism is alive and well, and if we are not vigilant, AfCFTA could deepen Africa's dependency on foreign powers and multinational corporations rather than liberate us from it.

Africa faces systemic challenges-poverty, unemployment, inequality, and weak industrial capacity. These are not accidents; they are the result of centuries of colonial exploitation and decades of neoliberal policies imposed by institutions like the IMF and World Bank. AfCFTA must not become a continuation of these failed policies.

We must also recognise the role of corrupt and complicit elites within our own countries. Too often, our leaders sign agreements that benefit a few at the expense of the many. As unions, we must hold our governments accountable to ensure that AfCFTA serves the people, not just the powerful.

Comrades, we must also situate AfCFTA within the broader global context. The world is in turmoil. We are witnessing rising geopolitical tensions between the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union. Trade wars are becoming the norm, not the exception.

Just recently, US President Donald Trump announced plans to increase tariffs on imports, threatening to escalate global trade tensions even further. These actions by the world's largest economies have ripple effects that reach our shores, affecting both our exports and imports, our industries, and ultimately, our jobs.

What does this mean for Africa? It means that our continent is at risk of being caught in the crossfire of global power struggles. It means that multinational corporations and powerful countries will seek to use AfCFTA to access our markets and resources on their terms, not ours.

It means that workers in Africa could face even greater exploitation as companies seek to cut costs and maximize profits in an uncertain world.

It means that countries that can no longer export to the USA could seek to dump cheap products on our continent.

Our alternative to unbridled greed and spiralling conflict is solidarity and development. We need to drive a developmental alternative that puts people before profits. By building a strong, united, and worker-centred AfCFTA, we can assert our sovereignty, protect our industries, drive industrialisation and development, and demand fair terms of trade. We can use AfCFTA to build regional value chains, create decent jobs, build infrastructure and reduce our dependency on foreign powers.

Comrades, one of the greatest strengths we have as workers is our unity. AfCFTA presents an opportunity to build solidarity across borders. The challenges we face-exploitation, inequality, and unemployment-are not unique to South Africa. They are shared struggles across the continent.

We must use AfCFTA as a platform to strengthen ties between unions in Africa. Together, we can fight for a worker-centred implementation of AfCFTA and build a united front against exploitation and oppression.

Unity is not just a slogan; it is a strategy. It means sharing resources, coordinating campaigns, and standing in solidarity with one another. It means rejecting xenophobia and embracing Pan-Africanism.

It means recognizing that an injury to one is an injury to all, whether that injury happens in Johannesburg, Lagos, or Nairobi.

Our struggles to build unity and a common struggle in relation to the AfCFTA cannot be done without support and hard work. We thank our partner is this project - ITUC-Africa - and the sponsors that are supporting our work - SASK and FES. We also thank all of you who are attending this workshop - many having made sacrifices to do so.

Comrades, the road ahead will not be easy.

There will be resistance from those who benefit from the status quo. But we have faced challenges before, and we have overcome them through struggle and solidarity.

As unions, we must educate our members about AfCFTA and its implications. We must organize to ensure that workers' voices are heard at every level of decision-making. We must mobilize to demand that AfCFTA delivers on its promises of development and prosperity for all Africans.

Let us remember the words of Kwame Nkrumah: "Africa must unite." AfCFTA is an opportunity to advance that vision, but only if we, the workers, take the lead. Let us rise to the occasion. Let us fight for an Africa that is free, fair, and just.

Thank you, comrades. Let us continue the struggle. Amandla!