In a significant step towards addressing informal employment and its impact on promoting decent work across Southern Africa, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Southern African Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) co-hosted a two-day conference on 24-25 June 2025 in Johannesburg. The activity gathered 38 trade union activists, including 14 women, from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa to strategise the formalization of the region's vast informal construction sector.

One of the conference’s highlights was a panel discussion with the theme: “The Employment Structure and the Level of Informality in the Construction Sector: A Southern African Perspective’. The said session featured prominent voices from the BWI and its affiliates SINTICIM (Mozambique), ZCATWU (Zimbabwe), and BCAWU (South Africa). Invaluable insights into the realities on the ground, shedding light on the challenges faced by migrant, informal, and formal construction sector workers across the sub-region were deliberated. 

The conference also featured informative presentations on the "ILO Decent Work in Construction Project," the importance and urgency of extending the decent work agenda to workers in the informal sector, informality contributors, trends, and impact in Southern Africa. Following a summary of key takeaways, the conference developed joint actionable solutions for an ILO/SATUCC/BWI collaborative and coordinated approach to addressing the challenges of informal and migrant workers.

“This gathering marks a pivotal moment for trade unions in Southern Africa. Together, we laid a solid foundation for a united front to tackle informality while advocating for decent work for all workers in the construction sector. Our commitment signals a renewed push for a just and equitable future for every construction worker in Southern Africa”, said the ZCATWU Deputy General Secretary and AME Regional Women’s Chair Sister Fozert Mugabe.