The Social Dimension of Regional Integration in ECOWAS

The Social Dimension of Regional Integration in ECOWAS
Working Paper No. 49

René Robert

Policy Integration Department
International Labour Office
Geneva



December 2004


Working papers are preliminary documents circulated
to stimulate discussion and obtain comments

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The Social Dimension of Regional
Integration in ECOWAS

Contents
Page
Preface ............................................................................................................................................ v
List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................................... vii
1.
Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1
2.
Regional Integration in Africa ........................................................................................... 4
3.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)............................................ 5
3.1
Constraints on West African Integration – WAEMU and Institutional Overlap ........ 6
3.2
The Revised ECOWAS Treaty ................................................................................... 9
4.
Regional Institutions and the Social Dimension of ECOWAS ...................................... 11
4.1
Council of Ministers ................................................................................................. 11
4.2. Human Resources, Information, Social and Cultural Affairs Commission .............. 12
4.3. ECOWAS Community Court of Justice ................................................................... 12
4.4
ECOWAS Community Parliament ........................................................................... 14
5.
ECOWAS, Employment Law and Workers’ Rights...................................................... 15
5.1
Legal Harmonisation................................................................................................. 17
5.2. Organization for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) ............ 18
5.3
Labour Mobility and workers’ rights........................................................................ 19
5.4
Social Protection ....................................................................................................... 20
6.
ECOWAS and Development Frameworks ..................................................................... 22
6.1
Towards a Regional Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) .............................. 22
6.2. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) ..................................... 23
7.
Social Dialogue and Democratic Participation............................................................... 24
7.1
The Legal Framework............................................................................................... 24
7.2
Organization of Trade Unions in West Africa (OTUWA) ....................................... 26
7.3
Employers’ Organizations ........................................................................................ 28
7.4 Civil Society ............................................................................................................. 29
8.
Gender and ECOWAS...................................................................................................... 30
9.
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 32
Working paper No. 49
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Annex 1 – Chapter XI of the Revised Treaty of ECOWAS..................................................... 35
Annex 2 – Regional Economic Communities in Africa ............................................................ 39
Annex 3 – ECOWAS and the ILO Fundamental Conventions ............................................... 41
Annex 4 – ECOWAS Member State Profiles............................................................................ 43

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Working paper No. 49

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Peace and unity and social justice everywhere,
Cultural integration and liberty we declare!
Women and youth, all shall maintain our future bright, in health;
Human and natural resources shall sustain our wealth.





- Excerpt from ECOWAS anthem
Working paper No. 49
iii

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Working paper No. 49

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Preface
As the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization noted in its
report, A fair globalization: Creating opportunities for all (ILO, Geneva, 2004),
regional economic integration can be a stepping stone to a fairer globalization. Yet
each regional economic arrangement has its own purpose, legal framework,
institutional set-up, history and trajectory. A better understanding of these factors is
essential to identifying how regional economic integration arrangements can indeed
pursue their own paths, at their own pace, towards a fairer globalization for the people
within them.
René Robert’s study of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
makes a significant contribution to such understanding. As he notes, regional
integration is as much about governance as it is about trade liberalization and its social
impact. Beyond describing its structures and the main areas of accomplishment to date,
the author places ECOWAS in a broader setting. Thus he looks at ECOWAS in
relation to regional economic integration on the African continent, with a particular
focus on two other prominent regional initiatives in West Africa: the West African
Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Organization for the
Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). Against this background, the
author examines ECOWAS in the context of labour law harmonisation, poverty
reduction strategies for development, gender empowerment and democratic
participation. In so doing, he points out both the challenges and the opportunities.
His observations and conclusions highlight the avenues open to African regional
economic communities to strengthen socio-economic development. Foremost among
these is reinforcing social dialogue and the social partners for their effective
engagement. The author makes suggestions as to how the ILO and other institutions
could facilitate this process in ECOWAS, which is politically open to it. Just as
cooperation on security issues has deepened within ECOWAS over time, so too could
the social dimension of integration evolve in this sub-region – all the moreso given the
link between social justice within societies and peace and security within sub-regions.
René Robert is an attorney and member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Previously, he worked at the Commission for Labour Cooperation in Washington D.C.
where he researched cross-border occupational health and safety in the context of the
North American Free Trade Agreement. He wrote this paper while under contract with
the International Labour Office. A visit to the ILO by a delegation from the ECOWAS
Secretariat in November 2004 provided an opportunity to receive informal feedback
on an earlier draft of this paper.
The author’s insights on the social dimension of regional economic integration go well
beyond ECOWAS. They provide food for thought about the potential of such
processes for a more inclusive globalization in other contexts as well. Comments on
this Working Paper, which expresses the author’s views and is intended to stimulate
discussion, are most welcome.
Anne Trebilcock
Deputy Director
Policy Integration Department
International Labour Office

December 2004
Working paper No. 49
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List of Acronyms
ACP
African, Caribbean and Pacific
ADB
African Development Bank
AEC
African Economic Community
AGOA
African Growth and Opportunity Act
ARIA
Assessing Regional Integration in Africa
ASEAN
Association of South East Asian Nations
AU African
Union
CSO Civil
Society
Organization
EAC
East African Community
ECA
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
ECOMOG
ECOWAS Monitoring Group
ECOWAS
Economic Community of West African States
EU European
Union
HR Human
Resources
ILO International
Labour
Organization
MERCOSUR
Southern Cone Common Market
MOU
Memorandum of Understanding
NAALC
North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement
NEPAD
New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NGO Non-governmental
Organization
OAU
Organization of African Unity
OECD
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OHADA
Organization for the Harmonisation of Business Law in
Africa
OTUWA
Organization of Trade Unions of West Africa
PRSP
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
REC
Regional Economic Community
SADC
Southern African Development Community
TLS
Trade Liberalisation Scheme
UNCTAD
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
USTR
United States Trade Representative
WACSOF
West African Civil Society Forum
WAEMU
West African Economic and Monetary Union
WAEN
West African Enterprise Network
WAWA
West African Women’s Association
WTO World
Trade
Organization


Working paper No. 49
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1. Introduction

This paper intends, through an examination of ECOWAS, to assess the obstacles and
possibilities of incorporating social concerns relating to labour and employment into
regional policies and institutions, and what opportunities there are in this area for
improvement as well as greater cooperation with the ILO.
Regional integration (RI) is typically associated, though is not limited to, the objectives of
increased trade and stronger economic linkages between countries. Yet as the recent report
of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization emphasizes, RI can
and should play a greater role in addressing issues such as democratic participation, respect
for basic rights, education, social security and poverty reduction – in essence, the social
dimension. To better understand what this social dimension looks like in practice, it is
useful to consider regional integration from two different, though complementary,
perspectives. The first, and likely most publicized aspect of RI, relates to the potential
negative impact that economic liberalization has on employment and on a region’s
capacity to dampen this impact. Regional agreements invariably include commitments for
lowering trade barriers between member states, raising concerns that jobs will be diverted
to markets with lower labour costs and that existing labour standards will erode. RI
agreements may also include provisions on the free movement of people and labour which
may increase competition between neighbouring workers and potentially have important
migratory consequences. An analysis of such socio-economic impacts of regional
integration will not be the focus of this paper but are, nonetheless, important areas of study
for discerning the social impact of RI economic policy on a region’s working population.1
The second perspective with regard to RI has to do with the institutional character of
integration. This is chiefly a governance question about whether regional bodies (where
they exist) have the mandate to address social concerns, and if so, how they are in fact
addressing them. What role, for example, do regional structures play in regulating labour
mobility, overseeing and enforcing labour and employment standards, or in promoting
social dialogue and gender equality in the elaboration of regional policies? Additionally,
within the African context, what responsibility do these organizations have in regional
development and poverty reduction strategies and how, if at all, do these initiatives speak
to issues like employment and social security? These inquiries are the main focus of the
presentation that follows which, in essence, identifies the present capacity and future
potential for RI as a vehicle to promote decent work by drawing on the experiences in
West Africa.
Ultimately, separating these two perspectives is artificial since the social policy choices of
regional communities cannot be made in a vacuum but must inevitably respond to the real
and measured effects that economic integration has on people. This interplay is most

1 There is currently no assessment available on the impact of economic liberalization on workers and
the labour market in West Africa, and mostly scattered information on the economic impact of
ECOWAS in general. However, a few reports do exist on the impact of the EU-ACP trade initiative
in the region, however, their discussion of labour issues is minimal. Consider Sustainability Impact
Assessment (SIA) of the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements: Regional SIA: West African
ACP Countries, online: <www.sia-acp.org/acp/download/acp_eu_sia_w-africa_2004.pdf> and
Assessing the Impact of ACP/EU Economic Partnership Agreements on West African Countries,
online:
<http://fesportal.fes.de/pls/portal30/docs/FOLDER/COTONOU/DOWNLOADS/FESDOWNLOAD
S/CONFERENCEPAPERS/HWWA+EPA+STUDY+29.7.04.PDF>.
Working paper No. 49
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