Might be a bit cynical but I have the feelings that there's a bit of a hidden agenda in sorting Africa out so that China will have somewhere cheap to have it's goods made in the future, when it's workers become too expensive.
It's a shame that the west is becoming progressively de-unionized as the existing unions are trying to globalize workers rights by supporting the unions in different countries and looking towards global agreement on workers rights and safety
I think too many years of removing social safety nets and union-busting have pushed people away from community to concentrate on looking after theirselves first which has rather dashed the hopes of collective bargaining.
The minimum wage thing isn't quite as it's cracked up to be, as proportionately you could be much better off in a poorer country. I read the book "Nickel and Dimed" a while back and if that's what low pay work is like in the US then it's hardly lucky (and yes I've done a fair amount of low-paying jobs which pretty much paid bills, rent and taxes only)
Myth: "Work cures poverty"
• The number of people in work is at "record levels" according to the UK government. Meanwhile, official UK figures show 22% of people living in poverty, compared to 13% in 1979.
47% of employees have wages that, on their own, are insufficient to avoid poverty.
42% of employees rely on means other than their own wages to avoid poverty.
In the 1970s and 1980s, around 4% of low-paid employees lived in poverty. Currently, 14% of low-paid employees live in poverty. (5% of all employees now live in poverty).
• Since the early 1970s GDP (national income) has doubled, but in real terms (ie allowing for inflation) the bottom 10% of jobs pay less now than in 1970. The minimum wage would have to be around £6.50 per hour to bring low-pay up to the 1970 level.
• Meanwhile, in America, 40% of those served in soup kitchens have jobs. Nearly a fifth of all homeless people in the USA are employed in jobs.
Source -
http://www.anxietyculture.com/workhell.htm