Alongside the workers, the International Trade Union Confederation - Africa (ITUC-Africa) intends to play its part in implementing the AfCFTA, to the benefit of its members.
The agreement establishing the AfCFTA was adopted on March 21, 2018, and May 30, 2019 marked its entry into force. To date, 44 countries have ratified the MoU.
Inevitably, Africa’s development is based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. A development that also focuses on its people, on the potential of the African peoples.

"Free trade must be a means to achieve prosperity", reiterated Hilma Mote, Head of the Africa Region at the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The trade unionists discussed a Protocol on Women and Youth in the Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This document contains various aspects to be taken into account to guarantee informal workers decent work.

For Hilma Mote, "labor and trade are inseparable". Zlecaf must therefore offer "decent work" to women and young people, as stipulated in Recommendation 204 on the transition from the informal to the formal economy, 2015 of the International Labor Organization (ILO). It stipulates on the protection of workers such as "the right to association, promote the protection of safety and health at work" informs part of the said recommendation.
Other measures, such as tariff reduction, trade union involvement, facilitation of cross-border trade, harmonization of in-country agreements (electronic payment), and a common tax regime, could enable the Zlecaf to be successfully implemented, according to the ILO.
"The use of AfCFTA can improve trade in Africa," it believes.
The single African market aims to facilitate the free movement of people, mobilize regional investment, promote industrial development and sustainable, inclusive socio-economic growth.