The Social Dimension of Regional Integration in ECOWAS

through on the many regional commitments requiring local level implementation. On the
other hand, an equally stubborn institutional problem that is symptomatic of political
disengagement is the failure of some States to keep up with regional membership dues,
thereby endangering the ability of secretariats and other community organs to function
properly.
These same constraints hamper not only the move towards more integrated regional
markets but also the successful implementation of regional social policies. The
harmonisation of labour standards within ECOWAS for instance – an important objective
where a Community envisages a common labour market – requires both political and
financial support. Yet despite having plans on paper to develop such legislation, there has
been no real progress to date, and one cannot be overly optimistic considering that regional
labour ministers have still not formally met to discuss labour concerns within ECOWAS.
Greater progress has been made, however, as seen in the recent adoption of the General
Convention on Social Security, another key component for protecting worker rights as the
region heads towards a more integrated labour market. Nonetheless, simply identifying the
legal measures adopted by a region is an insufficient indication of the success of regional
social processes and policies. More targeted and empirical follow-up research is needed to
assess the effectiveness of these measures and their impact on the working population of
West Africa.
The social partners in ECOWAS have had limited success in participating in the process of
integration despite the formal mechanisms set up for this very purpose. And, as briefly
mentioned, organized workers in the formal sector represent only a small proportion of the
West African workforce which is predominantly in the informal economy. The weak
coordination between worker and employer groups at the regional level, the limited
resources of these constituents to devote their energies to regional issues, the linguistic and
political divides resulting from the two regional structures in West Africa and, importantly,
the inability thus far of member governments to foster broad democratic participation in
the integration process all contribute to the current absence of vibrant social dialogue
within ECOWAS.
Promoting and incorporating the social dimension of RI within a given region needs strong
social partners. The social dimension cannot truly be representative or legitimate without
wider and real democratic participation in the organs of the community. Furthermore, such
participation is only sustainable through a continued political commitment on behalf of
regional member States to cultivate a practice of effective social dialogue. But even where
the political will and institutional mechanisms for social dialogue exist (as appears to be the
case in ECOWAS), the participation of workers and employers in the integration process
may nonetheless be weak or entirely absent either because they lack the resources, regional
coordination, political mandate or simply the awareness of the relevant issues. The current
situation of regional workers’ (OTUWA) and employers’ organizations in ECOWAS
epitomizes the challenges in creating intra-regional links between social partners and
expose the possibility of an uncoordinated and therefore less forceful critique of regional
economic and social policies.
As has been amply discussed, the overlap of RI communities and initiatives poses an
obstacle to effective and coherent social policy in West Africa. Considering the rate of
integration in the WAEMU Community and the accomplishments to date of OHADA on
legal harmonization, the centre of regional social policy development in West Africa is not
confined to ECOWAS alone. Whether these disparate projects will help or hinder
ECOWAS’ stated intention of becoming the dominant West African Community is not yet
clear. The forthcoming work by the Economic Commission for Africa on rationalizing the
RECs will present an opportunity for greater reflection on the effects of overlapping
communities on regional labour and employment policy, particularly in the domains of
labour migration and labour standards.
Working paper No. 49 33