JOHANNESBURG - South Africas trade union federations said they want a seat at the table where decisions about intra-continental trade deals are being made.
Congress of South African Trade Unions COSATU, Federation of Unions of South Africa FEDUSA, National Council of Trade Unions NACTU and South African Federation of Trade Unions SAFTU made the calls on the sidelines of the latest L20 meeting in the Western Cape.
L20 is the labour leg of the G20.
The union federations used the gathering in George to deliberate on the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA and its implications for workers across the continent.
As global supply chains shift and geopolitical and environmental pressures intensify, African economies continue to reimagine how goods move across the continent.
This means governments need to adapt frameworks to make it easier to do business across African borders, including making cross-border payments less costly and more efficient.
While South Africas labour unions are proponents of the African Continental Free Trade Area, they said the pact mustnt become a blueprint for deregulated and unchecked markets at the expense of workers.