Each year, International Day for Decent Work reminds us that sustainable development is ultimately about people, the dignity, fairness, and inclusion that define decent work. For Africa, where the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy is both urgent and inevitable, this reminder is particularly timely. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines decent work as productive employment that delivers a fair income, security in the workplace, social protection, and equality of opportunity for all. These principles sit at the heart of what a just transition must achieve.
In South Africa, the relevance of decent work in the just transition is unmistakable. The country’s official unemployment rate stood at 32.9% in early 2025, and when including discouraged jobseekers, it rises to 43.1%. At the same time, 35% of employed South Africans earn less than R2000 per month, highlighting the prevalence of the working poor. These figures reveal not only the depth of South Africa’s employment crisis but also why the country’s path to a green economy must prioritise quality job creation over mere job numbers. As the world moves away from fossil fuels, South Africa faces the twin challenge of phasing out coal which still provides over 70% of its electricity, while protecting the livelihoods of tens of thousands of workers and surrounding communities.
This is where the concept of a just transition becomes vital. A fair and inclusive transition ensures that communities dependent on coal are supported through retraining, reskilling, and social protection, and that the new green economy creates decent, dignified work rather than replicating old inequalities. Climate change already imposes major costs on labour in Africa, with heat exposure alone estimated to have wiped out the equivalent of 4% of the continent’s GDP in 2022. For South Africa, rising temperatures and extreme weather events threaten jobs in agriculture, construction, and mining, making the creation of resilient, low-carbon industries not just an environmental necessity, but a social imperative.
At the African Centre for a Green Economy (AfriCGE), our work is deeply aligned with these principles. Through initiatives such as the Shaping Inclusive Transitions (SIT) Initiative and the Just Transition Innovation Platform (J-TIP), AfriCGE works to ensure that climate action translates into real economic inclusion. In Mpumalanga the heart of South Africa’s coal economy our community dialogues aim to engage local stakeholders in co-designing solutions that reflect their lived realities. Through enterprise incubation, AfriCGE supports youth- and women-led green businesses, enabling new forms of livelihood in areas historically dependent on carbon-intensive sectors.
The International Day for Decent Work is a timely reminder that the green economy must also be a fair economy. For South Africa, achieving this will mean embedding decent work criteria, fair wages, labour rights, safe conditions into all green transition projects, expanding social protection for displaced workers, and investing in skills for the green industries of the future. Above all, it requires social dialogue, ensuring that workers, communities, and civil society have a say in shaping the future of work in a decarbonising economy.
As we mark this day, AfriCGE reaffirms its commitment to building an inclusive green economy that leaves no one behind. Decent work is not just a goal, it is the foundation for a just transition that protects people, sustains livelihoods, and powers a greener, fairer South Africa.
