Across the continent, workers and citizens continue to bear the heavy costs of corruption, illicit financial flows (IFFs), state capture and unsustainable debt. Resources that should finance schools, hospitals, social protection systems, infrastructure and decent jobs are too often diverted away from the public good.
Corruption steals jobs. Corruption steals schools. Corruption steals hospitals. Corruption steals the future.

Africa is not poor. Africa is rich in resources, talent and potential. Yet millions remain trapped in poverty because wealth is not being used to advance the wellbeing of the people. ITUC-Africa therefore calls for stronger measures to combat corruption and illicit financial flows, promote transparency and accountability, and implement progressive taxation, including fair taxation of high-net-worth individuals and multinational corporations.

The rally also highlights the urgent need to confront rising inequality. While wealth continues to accumulate among a small minority, millions of workers struggle with low wages, unemployment, precarious work and inadequate social protection. We echo the call of Oxfam’s 2026 Inequality Report: the super-rich must pay their fair share. Everyone deserves dignity, decent work and social protection.

African workers further stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where ongoing violence continues to destroy lives, livelihoods and communities. We call for an immediate end to the violence, the protection of civilians, workers and communities, and an end to all forms of external interference that fuel instability and conflict.

Finally, the recently released 2026 ITUC Global Rights Index confirms that democracy and workers’ rights are under unprecedented attack. Across the world, fundamental rights—including the rights to organise, bargain collectively and strike—are increasingly restricted. These trends reinforce a simple truth: no society can build sustainable democracy while corruption flourishes, inequality widens and conflict persists. Africa’s future must be founded on peace, accountability, decent work, strong public services, social protection and shared prosperity.

The message from African workers in Geneva is simple and urgent:

Africa’s wealth must benefit Africa’s people.

Issued on the sidelines of the 114th Session of the International Labour Conference, Geneva, Switzerland, 4 June 2026.