Nearly 45 per cent of the occupational accidents reported in the Republic of the Congo over the past five years occurred in the agricultural and forestry sectors. At the same time, the social security scheme managed by the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) covers only 10 to 15 per cent of the working population, mostly wage earners in the formal sector. The vast majority of rural, informal and seasonal workers in these value chains therefore remain without protection in the event of illness or an occupational accident.
In response to this twofold challenge - preventing occupational risks and protecting workers - Mr Pierre Mabiala, Minister of State, Minister of the Civil Service, Labour and Social Dialogue, officially launched two projects implemented by the ILO in Brazzaville on 6 October 2026. The ceremony was attended by three other members of the Government: the Minister of Employment, Entrepreneurship and Vocational Training; the Minister of Social Security, Social Welfare and National Solidarity; and the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Sports, in charge of Youth and Civic Education.
The workshop brought together 114 participants, 45 of them women. Alongside the Representative of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the ILO, participants included representatives of the General Directorate of Labour and the Brazzaville Departmental Directorate of Labour, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, the Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Employers' organizations and the private sector were represented by the Inter-Professional Employers' Union of Congo (UNICONGO), the National Union of Economic Operators of Congo (UNOC), Eni Congo and the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), and workers' organizations by the Trade Union Confederation of Congo (CSC) and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Congo Workers (CSTC). The national print media and television channels also covered the event.
Economic growth achieved at the expense of workers' safety and health, or that leaves some of them without social protection, cannot be a lever for sustainable development. Mr Pierre Mabiala, Minister of State, Minister of the Civil Service, Labour and Social Dialogue
The first project aims to improve OSH and access to social protection for workers in the sunflower and soya value chains linked to Eni's activities in the Congo; the second aims to improve the safety and health of workers in the forestry value chain. They are funded by Eni S.p.A. and by France (Ministry of Labour and Solidarity), respectively. Both are part of the ILO flagship programmes Safety + Health for All and Building Social Protection Floors for All.
"There can be no genuine structural transformation without decent work," said the Minister of State, for whom the soya, sunflower and forestry value chains are levers for economic diversification and poverty reduction at the heart of the National Development Plan. The two projects directly support the Government's efforts to promote decent work, in particular OSH and access to social protection, as reflected in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2022-2026 and in priority 2 of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2023-2026, which specifically targets the progressive extension of social protection floors to workers in the informal economy and the improvement of their OSH conditions. They also support the commitments of the Republic of the Congo, which ratified the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), in 2023 and plans to ratify the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187), and to develop a national OSH policy and programme.
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On behalf of the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ms Fatoumata Barry Marega, UNESCO Representative in the Congo, commended "the quality of the preparatory work" as a guarantee of relevance and effectiveness, and recalled that OSH and access to social protection are at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 8. She called for particular attention to be paid to cooperative members and day labourers, so that the benefits of the projects are genuinely inclusive.
A large share of workers in these timber and agricultural value chains work informally, often on a seasonal basis, with very limited access to health care and social protection. Ms Fatoumata Barry Marega, UNESCO Representative in the Congo, on behalf of the United Nations Resident Coordinator
Speaking on behalf of workers' organizations, the Trade Union Confederation of Congo (CSC), which brings together federations from the agricultural, forestry and informal economy sectors, welcomed the fact that trade unions had been consulted from the design stage of the projects. It noted that occupational accidents remain all too frequent in these value chains, where day labourers and cooperative members often work without a formal contract or social protection coverage, and without training on occupational risks. The CSC called for the sectoral federations to be fully involved in the monitoring bodies and for trade union capacities to be strengthened, reaffirming its readiness to engage in sincere and continuous social dialogue throughout the implementation of the projects.
The success of these two projects can only be measured by what actually changes for workers on plantations, in sawmills and in logging operations - not just in reports and workshops. Representative of the Trade Union Confederation of Congo (CSC), on behalf of workers' organizations
Representative employers' organizations, speaking through the Inter-Professional Employers' Union of Congo (UNICONGO), confirmed their full support for the implementation of the two projects.
Occupational safety and health and social protection are the cornerstone of any sustainable and humane enterprise. A healthy working environment benefits enterprises' productivity and profitability. Mr Davy Mahoungou, Member Relations Officer, Inter-Professional Employers' Union of Congo (UNICONGO)
Other strategic stakeholders, such as the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), also expressed their support for the two projects and proposed close collaboration with the ILO in implementing interventions in the forestry sector. For his part, the Minister of State called for the mobilization of social security institutions, which is crucial to extending coverage to workers in these value chains.
The launch marks the end of an inception phase that began in November 2025 with a preparatory mission and tripartite consultations, followed by field missions in June and July 2026 to the departments of Pool, Djoué-Léfini, Bouenza, Niari and Lékoumou to identify the constraints on, and incentives for, improving OSH conditions and workers' access to social protection.
The implementation phase is now under way. With strong political ownership and a firm tripartite commitment, the Republic of the Congo is laying the foundations for growth that will not come at the expense of the health, safety and social protection of the women and men who generate it.
