The Compromiso also supports the idea of creating an Africa Credit Rating Agency. This is an important step that responds to long-standing frustrations with how the three dominant global rating agencies assess African economies. These agencies often apply criteria that fail to reflect local realities, resulting in higher borrowing costs that drain public budgets. A credible, independent, and transparent African rating agency could help level the playing field and make it easier for governments to invest in jobs, health, education, and climate resilience. Still, the document does not say when or how this agency will be created. Without clarity and follow-through, the idea risks stalling at the political level.

There are also signals of change in areas such as tax cooperation and debt management. The Compromiso encourages support for a United Nations Tax Convention, something African countries have long demanded in order to ensure fairer international tax rules. It also initiates a new intergovernmental process to address gaps in the way sovereign debt is managed. These proposals are welcome, but they remain voluntary and are not backed by firm timelines. Given the scale of Africa’s debt crisis and the deep loss of revenue to tax avoidance and evasion, what is needed now is not just encouragement, but action.

What is perhaps most striking are the issues that are missing. The Compromiso does not include any reference to living wages or equal pay. These are essential tools in the fight against working poverty and inequality, especially in a region where many workers are earning below subsistence levels. The outcome also fails to acknowledge the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), despite its role as one of the continent’s most ambitious development frameworks. AfCFTA offers a rare opportunity to link trade, industrial policy, and labour standards, yet it is entirely absent from the global financing conversation in Seville.

Social dialogue is another gap. There is no recognition of the role that trade unions, employers, and governments must play together in shaping inclusive development. Across Africa, where democratic institutions are often fragile and workers’ voices are sidelined, strong and well-supported social dialogue is essential to building fair and lasting economic policies. Its absence in the Compromiso undermines the very idea of inclusive governance that the document claims to support.The text also touches on climate finance, noting that four trillion dollars a year will be needed by developing countries to meet climate goals. But here again, there is no clarity on where the funds will come from, how they will be distributed, or whether they will be accessible to countries that need them most. The call for reallocation of Special Drawing Rights; another long-standing demand of African governments and unions, is missing altogether.

In the end, the Compromiso de Sevilla reflects a world that is still hesitant to make real changes to how global finance works. It acknowledges that there are problems, but avoids addressing the root causes. It offers ideas, but not the binding mechanisms that would turn those ideas into reality. For African trade unions, this is not a turning point. It is a moment to take stock, and to prepare for the continued struggle ahead.We will push for the implementation of the few steps outlined, like the expansion of social protection and the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency. But we will also keep fighting for the things left unsaid; living wages, decent work, fair trade rules, social dialogue, tax justice, and a real solution to the debt crisis. The road to the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025 in Doha,must be a path of pressure, mobilisation, and solidarity. African workers are not asking for favours. We are demanding fairness. The Compromiso de Sevilla may offer a place to begin, but it is far from where we need to end.