Herbert Jauch is Head of Research and Education at the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI), in Windhoek, Namibia The struggle continues! For trade unions in Southern Africa,this is an appropriate time to remember the Mozambican revolutionaryslogan 'a luta continua' Tradefinancial elsewhere recovered unions losses from on in the Southern the they continent membership suffered Africa - have in the and like elsewhere onthe continent - have not recovered from the membership and financial losses they suffered inthe 1990sasa result of the IMF/World Banksponsored Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), which ledtomassretrenchments and privatisation of state enterprises. Shrinking formal sector jobs, anincreasing number of casual jobs, aswell assurvival jobsinthe informal economy characterise much of Southern Africa today. Theonly countries that still have a fairly large number of formal sector jobsareNamibia, Botswana andSouth Africa, but even there secure forms ofemployment are under threat. The financial difficulties facing unions have had a negative impact ontheir recruitment drives and their capacity toeffectively engage employers andgovernment. Thesituation has worsened duetothe growing informalisation of employment. Most ofthe economically active population struggles tomake a living in Southern Africa's informal economy. Trade unions find itvery hard tounionise informal economy workers, and traditional forms of recruitment inthe formal sector areoflittle relevance when dealing with the informal economy. Ghana isoneof the few success stories where trade unions managed to penetrate the informal economy and toplay a meaningful role Inimproving working conditions there. Employers aretaking advantage of flexible labour markets. Chinese companies, for example, which have significantly Increased in number andscope ofoperations in Africa in recent years arenotorious for flouting national labour laws, including health andsafety standards. Insome cases, these companies receive the tacit support ofgovernment agencies. InZambia, for example, a Chinese company applied for andwasgranted an exemption from complying with the National Pensions Act. Again, inZambia, fifty workers died ina Chinese company in2005partly because the Chinese employers failed to comply with safety regulations. Arecent study by the African Labour Research Network (ALRN) that covered 7 Southern African countries revealed widespread abuses ofworkers rights andinternationally-recognised ILO labour standards including those that have been ratified by the country inwhich they operate. Inmost countries the labour inspection system hascollapsed duetopoor funding andlabour laws arethus not strictly enforced. Investments at all costs? Thequest toattract foreign investments at (almost) allcosts isa common trend in Southern Africa with host countries being willing tooffer increasing concessions that often Include compromises onworkers rights. Theinfamous caseofthe Malaysian Ramatex clothing andtextiles company that operated as anExport Processing Zones (EPZ) company in Namibia exemplifies the problems associated with such policies. Historically, collective bargaining hasbeen the most effective tool for trade union intervention. Unions have relied oncollective bargaining (backed by strikes when negotiation fails) in their struggle for improved pay andworking conditions. But this tool canonly beemployed when workers areunionised and the union is recognised tobethe legitimate representative ofworkers. Employers who want toavoid collective bargaining usually dosoby blocking the unionisation oftheir employees. That is precisely what many ofthe smaller employers doandthe ALRN study found Chinese employers amongst the main culprits. They use both open andsubtle methods todiscourage their employees from forming orjoin trade unions thereby denying the unions the opportunity tousetheir most effective tool collective bargaining - tointervene inChinese companies that areopenly flouting the labour regulations. Signs of hope? Despite these frustrations, trade unions in Southern Africa have managed tounionise workers inmany industries andaretaking steps toaddress the concerns of their members. TheMetal and Allied Namibia Workers' Union (MANWU) proposes the setting upofa committee made upofrepresentatives ofallstakeholders Including the union and ministries incharge ofworks andlabour to monitor compliance with labour standards In the construction industry. Preparations are currently under way tosetupa Council for the industry which will serve asa regulatory body that will ensure compliance with allrelevant laws. Trade unions inMalawi, ledby the Malawi Congress of Trade Union (MCTU) have adopted various approaches todealwith Chinese investors who donot respect workers' rights. They brought the badlabour practices in Chinese companies tothe notice of the Chinese Embassy. Through dialogue, the Chinese ambassador hasassured the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) leadership that the embassy will cooperate with the trade unions and the government toensure that the Chinese investors abide by national labour laws. In addition, the unions areplanning toembark upon a more aggressive organising campaign...