The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) ( French: Organisation de L'Unité Syndicale Africaine; OUSA) is an independent regional union federation aimed at unifying

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

centres in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. This organisation was founded in April, 1973 as a successor to two previously competing labour union organisations in Africa: the All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF) and the African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC). The process to unify a Pan-African labour union organisation also involved international labour organisations as decision-making stakeholders like the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 whe ...

(ICFTU) and the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

(WFTU). Finally, also with the help of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...

(OAU), the AATUF and the ATUC merged to form the OATUU. The driving factors for this unification and the creation of the OATUU was to advance

Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atla ...

, economic justice, and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

throughout African workplaces. As of 2022, the OATUU has been collaborating with the International Labor organisation (ILO) to be an exclusive, overarching organisation representing African workers' interests. The OATUU has four regional sub-organisations: The Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA); Organisation of Trade Unions of Central Africa (OTUCA); Southern Africa Trade Union Coordinating Council (SATUCC); and the Organisation of Trade Unions of Arab Maghreb (OTUAM). Together, they represent a total of 73 national labour union affiliates, totalling at approximately 25 million individual members. The OATUU strives to promote "social and economic justice" in Africa through projects that combat

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, fund women empowerment in the workplace, and support democratisation efforts in African nations. The OATUU receives financial support from the ILO to directly fund these projects as well as

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

efforts that favour policies conducive to

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

in Africa.

History

Prior to the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity

The first Pan-African trade union organisation, the All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF), was founded in Casablanca, Morocco in 1961. The AATUF was born out of the resolutions from the first All-African People’s Conference (AAPC) held in 1958 at Accra, Ghana headed by prominent Pan-Africanists like Tom Mboya and

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

. The AATUF aimed at promoting

and being an independent federation of labour unions that prioritized the interests of all African workers throughout the continent. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, African workers under colonial rule were split and led to the formation of various independent trade unions across the continent. And after Decolonization of Africa in the 1950s, many regional African trade unions maintained close relations with their respective imperial centres. Following independence, early attempts at Pan-Africanism via union federation were further complicated by

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

ideological differences. As African nations subscribed to combinations of anti-colonial

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

, pro-Western

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

, as well as series of

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

and

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

alignments within the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

, ideological differences from the 1950s to 1970s obstructed attempts at unity. While the AATUF was initially successful in remaining non-partisan and free from foreign intervention during the 1960s, the newly created African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) supported by the

(ICFTU) was beginning to grow and destabilize AATUF's resolution to be the sole representative for a Pan-African workers'

trade union federation Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

. This led to a partitioning of African trade unions along ideological lines and the AATUF began to align with the

(WFTU) in response to the ATUC’s creation in 1962. The several trade union federation organisations in Africa clashed and interfered with each other and provoked internal conflicts throughout the 1960s.

Rise of the OATUU

The open split between the two unions (AATUF and the ATUC) brought in the involvement of the newly formed

(OAU) as a mediator for disputes in African trade union affairs. Beginning in 1964, both the AATUF and ATUC sent delegations to OAU summits to gain exclusive recognition as the sole representative of African workers’ interests. This led to the court of African Labour Ministers, who gathered from 1966 to 1967, to discuss what role trade unions should play in Africa’s development and how to achieve unity between them. In 1967, the OAU’s Administrative Secretary-General called all national trade union centres to attend a conference aimed at reconciling AATUF and ATUC conflicts and aspirations. This conference was called the organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) held in November, 1972 in

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

. In collaboration with the International Labor Organisation (ILO) in organizing the conference, the OAU Secretary General presented unity as a core principle to all trade union centres in Africa. Under the auspices of

, an agreement was finally brokered in April, 1973 formally establishing the OATUU. The OATUU’s creation meant the absorption of the AATUF, ATUC, the Pan-African Congress, as well as other smaller workers’ organisations across Africa.

History of General Secretaries

:1973: Dennis Akumu :1980: Ibrahim Ghandour :1986: Hassan Sunmonu :1991: Napoleon Kpoh :2012: Owei Lakemfa :2015: Mezhoud Arezki

The OATUU Today

The OATUU acted first as a partner, then as a successor to ILO responsibilities in Africa. One of their most notable activities is aiding national liberation movements across Africa, such as advocating for workers’ rights during the

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in South Africa. In addition to sharing mandates, the ILO supports and funds “extensive worker education programmes (WED)” which the OATUU offers at the national, regional, and continental levels. As noted, The OATUU strives to promote "social and economic justice" in Africa dealing with problems like

, women empowerment in the workplace, and democratisation in African nations. The OATUU receives financial support from the ILO to directly fund these social projects, and more critically, supports

efforts that would be favourable to union workers across Africa.

List of OATUU Conferences and Notable Events

Key Activities and Functions

While there has been much coverage for the history and the formation of the OATUU, the details of their current duties and activities have not been covered as extensively by secondary publications. As of 2022 there are 73 affiliates to The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity, 33 from former

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

nations, 28 from former Anglophone nations, and 12 semi-regional trade unions who operate out of the OATUU's four regional sub-organisations: The Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA); Organisation of Trade Unions of Central Africa (OTUCA); Southern Africa Trade Union Coordinating Council (SATUCC); and the Organisation of Trade Unions of Arab Maghreb (OTUAM). Their key vision is to represent workers from all African countries for the “realization of social and economic justice for all”. The OATUU has 12 listed official goals all striving to strengthen the relationship and coordination of economic activities between their affiliate members. The OATUU carries out a variety of education, training, research and advisory tasks across various areas in the Africa: national defense,

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, women empowerment,

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entrepreneu ...

, health and safety, actions against

, African economic integration, and

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

. Upholding the rights of African trade unions are also a big part of their mandate, and the OATUU will do so by assisting labour unions navigate the complicated bureaucratic processes of international organisations, such as filing the paperwork for labor claims with the ILO. The OATUU acts as an agent representing the economic interests of African governments in international organisations, namely pushing back against

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF),

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, and World Trade Organisation (WTO) policies that harm African domestic industry and labor standards. By also working with the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

(AU), the OATUU attempts to continually strengthen the political, social, and economic integration throughout the continent. Together, the OATUU, the ILO, and the AU, in consultation with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN) have strived to strengthen the African Economic Community (AEC), promote African alternative frameworks to Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP), and push for debt-cancellation across Africa.

Affiliates

Francophone Affiliates

Anglophone Affiliates

Criticisms

Corruption

The OATUU’s 4th Congress in 1985 held in Lagos, Nigeria collapsed as a number of unions accused the secretariat of misusing funds and manipulating votes. The OATUU’s Secretary General refused to resign and a thus Provisional Coordinating Committee was established within the OATUU. In 1985, the Workers Education Programme (WED) canceled a project funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and the ILO citing for concerns of foreign influence and the misappropriation of funds by the organisation's leadership. Thus, divides within the OATUU ensued, further jeopardizing the OATUU's official mandate of promoting

and unity.

Lack of Finances

The OATUU has had difficulty in establishing their own fundraising capacities, and so the basis for the OATUU has always been under significant threat; the OATUU still persists today mostly because of its ability to continue to leverage resources through the ILO. The financial problems the OATUU experienced in their early years of establishment meant that educational programmes had to be funded by external donor participants. The financial hardships led to the OATUU becoming greatly dependent on, and beholden to the interests of other governments and political groups. For example, Libyans from the National Union of Libyan Workers (NULW) were compelled to accept substantial sources of funding from “the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and several other African governments” regardless of its conditionality throughout the 1990s.

Illiteracy

At the "Democracy and Popular Participation for African Trade Union Leaders" seminar held in

in April of 1994, trade union representatives identified mass

illiteracy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

among the African population as an issue that was negatively impacting the growth of democratisation, a fundamental tenet of the OATUU's mission in Africa. Many felt that the socio-economic conditions had been negatively impacted by Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) supported by the IMF and the

, ultimately reducing the capabilities for democratic developments in the continent. Representatives decided that in order to increase the level of democratisation within the continent, trade unions needed to increase levels of education and training programmes, not just for representative members but also their surrounding communities. The hope was this would put pressure on African governments to create more employment, focus on education, and promote social values.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Bernards, Nick. "The International Labour Organization and African Trade Unions: Tripartite Fantasies and Enduring Struggles." ''Review of African Political Economy'' 44, no. 153 (2017): 399–414. * International Centre for Trade Union Rights.''Trade Unions of the World''. 6th ed. London: John Harper Publishing, 2005. * Kalusopa, Trywell. "Whither African Trade Union Movement? Lessons for Restitution and Reform." In ''Labour Questions in the Global South'', edited by Praveen Jha, Walter Chambati, and Lyn Ossome, 123-146. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. {{ISBN, 978-981-334-635-2. * Martens, George. "Unity Eludes Africa's Trade Unions." ''Industrial Relations Journal'' 16, no. 4 (1985): 85–97. * OATUU. “About Us.” The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity, May 28, 2021. https://oatuu.org/about-us/. * OATUU. “Affiliates.” The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity, May 28, 2021. https://oatuu.org/affilates/. * OATUU, ILO, and ECA.
Seminar on Democracy and Popular Participation for African Trade Union Leaders: Seminar Report
" Paper presented at the 13th Popular Participation Workshop Series by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April, 1994. * Zeleza, Tiyambe. "Pan-African Trade Unionism: Unity and Discord." ''Transafrican Journal of History'' 15, (1986): 164–190.

External links

OATUU Official Website

OATUU Facebook

OATUU Twitter

OATUU LinkedIn

The Guardian News Coverage
Trade unions established in 1973 African trade union federations International and regional union federations