Africa is the world's second largest continent in both land area and population—with more than 800 million people living in fifty-four countries. The continent is home to more than 60 metal and mineral products. It is also a major producer of several of the world’s most important minerals and metals including oil and gas, gold, diamonds, uranium, manganese, chromium, nickel, bauxite and cobalt. Although under-explored, Africa hosts about 30% of the planet's mineral reserves making it a truly strategic producer of these precious metals.

Yet, Africa remains the most underdeveloped continent. This is in spite of the fact that Africa’s underdevelopment has been much studied and debated since African nations gained self-government in the decades after the Second World War. Various visions on Africa’s development have been propounded during the last fifty years, by both Africans and external development partners.

The trade union movement in Africa concurs with the analysis that the development challenges facing the continent are enormous, and requires not a simple solution. Trade union leaders have particularly been concerned that despite the recent economic growth the prospects for social development in Africa are not promising, with tens of millions barely surviving in a degrading and debilitating poverty.

Trade unionists have continuously called for an integrated and holistic development approach. Africa has to adapt to this process and seize the potential opportunities that exist for the economic and social progress of the continent and its integration in the global economy. In that respect, the success of this adaptation depends to a large extent on the actors and the countries themselves.

To achieve these objectives, African countries should create the necessary conditions for a conducive environment to boost economic growth, create employment and promote development.

Objectives of the conference

1. To sensitize the trade union leadership on the emerging global development agenda, including a reflection of the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda and its implication for implementation in Africa;

2. To investigate union’s responses to their environment – union organizational configuration, policy and strategy at international, regional, sub-regional, national and local level, and the way in which these factors might influence union effectiveness of organizing, including new innovations in membership recruitment;

3. To deliberate on cardinal values and core principles of the trade unions in building and achieving social justice and stability within the economic processes; and

4. To encourage networking and cooperation among the various trade union national centres in Africa.