Be committed to economic integration - TUC

Accra, July 9, GNA- Participants at a West African sub-regional workshop on trade and development on Tuesday, called on ECOWAS Governments to demonstrate more commitment and political will towards the economic integration of the region as a means of strengthening its position in international economic and political relations.

A communiqu=E9 issued at the end of the three-day workshop in Accra urged sub-regional governments to build intra-ECOWAS strategic alliances and develop a comprehensive mechanism for strengthening its position, to engage in effectively and meaningfully multilateral trade negotiations. It also called for greater attention to domestic resource mobilisation as a basis for strengthening the independence of West African countries to accelerate regional integration efforts.

Mr Kwesi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) read the communique.

The workshop was organized by the TUC and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) and was under the general theme: "Trade and Development -Challenges for Trade Unions."

The Communiqu=E9 urged ECOWAS governments to support trade unions and other civil society organizations to build a strong capacity and expertise on the technicalities of trade agreements and negotiations processes.

It also called for the enactment of legislative provisions that address the problems of migrant workers, particularly in the areas of social security, protection of their rights and their ability to join or lead trade unions.

On the role of the ECOWAS Secretariat towards unionists' activities, it said the secretariat should assist trade unions to build the capacity and expertise on trade agreements and negotiations procedures. It should also assist unions to create the framework for their active participation in trade negotiations involving ECOWAS States.

"The Secretariat should also work assiduously towards a common West African currency as a means of reinforcing the independence of sub-regional states and their strength in international economic relations."

The workshop called on trade unions at the national and continental levels to develop comprehensive education, training and research programmes that seek to build the capacity of trade unions and cadres to participate effectively in trade negotiations and other development initiatives.

It urged them to develop advocacy mechanisms that address the challenges posed by the multilateral trade system, particularly the reform and transformation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the outright rejection of new issues that the industrialized countries are seeking to introduce into WTO systems.

Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiatives (PSI) said global trade rules must be defined from a developmental perspective, if they are to serve as effective tools for poverty reduction.

Mr Michael Besha, Assistant Secretary General of the Organisation of the African Unions Unity (OATUU), expressed satisfaction that the workshop provided the tonic for unions to address a number of issues. These include "the unjust and oppressive multilateral trade system embodied in the WTO and other trade agreements to reverse the destructive trend and effects of the international economic order".

He said the international systems have been structured in a way that the agricultural policies and development efforts of Third World countries for instance, must be compatible with certain trade-related demands.

He said since the inception of WTO, it has been an instrument of manipulation by the industrialised countries to secure and protect their interest at the expense of developing economies. Mr Besha said trade unions have a key role in contributing to Africa's efforts at securing a trade regime that adequately meets her development needs.