Cairo seminar empowers trade unions to lead the Just Transition
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has kicked off a regional advocacy seminar in Cairo, bringing together trade union leaders from Africa and the Arab States to promote social justice and decent work within a just transition framework, ensuring that all benefit from the pursuit of global sustainable development.
27 October 2025
Trade union representatives from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Ghana and Iraq gathered to share expertise and chart a unified approach to the Just Transition; ensuring that climate action and environmental sustainability advance hand in hand with decent work, social protection, and equality.
The regional advocacy seminar on “Integrating Just Transition through National and Multinational Platforms” was supported by the ILO's Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV), Cairo Office and Geneva Office, and was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Government of the Netherlands, and the Egypt Methanex Corporation.
It was held ahead of two global platforms for social dialogue and joint action: COP30 in Brazil and the Second World Summit for Social Development in Qatar; both scheduled for November of 2025.
The seminar was opened by Eric Oechslin, Director of the ILO Cairo Office, together with Lene Olsen, Senior Programme and Operations Specialist at the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV), and Wafaa Abdelkader, ACTRAV's North Africa Specialist.
“This seminar represents an important step toward ensuring that workers’ perspectives and priorities are fully reflected in climate and development dialogue,” said Eric Oechslin, Director of the ILO Cairo Office.
He added that “through social dialogue and joint action, trade unions can contribute to building climate-resilient economies that create decent work opportunities and support a fair and inclusive transition for all.”
Through social dialogue and joint action, trade unions can contribute to building climate-resilient economies.
Eric Oechslin, Director of the ILO Cairo Office
“A just transition is not only a slogan; it is a roadmap to shared prosperity,” said Lene Olsen. She continued that “by strengthening the capacity and unity of trade unions, the ILO and its partners are helping shape national and global responses that protect both the planet and the people who depend on it.”
A just transition is a roadmap to shared prosperity.
Lene Olsen, Senior Programme and Operations Specialist, ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities
Wafaa AbdelKader, Workers’ Activities Specialist, ILO Cairo Office, highlighted the importance of this platform for advancing regional collaboration. “Workers’ organizations are not just observers in the climate debate; they are essential partners in shaping it,” she said.
Abdelkader noted that “Through this seminar, trade unions are identifying concrete strategies to influence national and international climate agendas, advancing decent work, gender equality, and social protection as key aspects of sustainable development.”
Workers’ organizations are not just observers in the climate debate; they are essential partners in shaping it.
Wafaa AbdelKader, Workers’ Activities Specialist, ILO Cairo Office
The Cairo seminar builds on the momentum of the 2024 Call to Action on Fostering Social Dialogue for a Just Transition, jointly launched by the ILO, BMZ, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). The 2024 initiative promotes stronger social dialogue and integrated approaches to achieving environmentally sustainable and socially just economies.
Over four days, participants engaged in thematic sessions on social protection, gender equality, skills for green jobs, and the inclusion of migrant and refugee workers in climate strategies.
The programme also included scenario-building exercises and the formulation of a Trade Union Unity of Action Plan, to guide regional contributions to COP30 in Brazil and the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar- both happening in November of 2025.
This initiative forms part of the ILO’s broader efforts to ensure that climate action supports decent work, equality, and resilience. By empowering trade unions as agents of change, the ILO reinforces its global mandate to promote social justice in a changing and evolving world of work.