Organisation of African Trade Union Unity
Abbreviation | OATUU or OUSA |
---|---|
Formation | April 1973 |
Type | Accra, Ghana |
Coordinates | 5°37′19″N 0°11′10″W / 5.62194°N 0.18611°W |
Region | Africa |
Membership | 25 million members |
General Secretary | Mezhoud Arezki |
Assistant Secretary General | Nzunda Titus Emmanuel and Udeh Okechukwu Valentine |
Treasurer General | Ibrahim Abrar Ibrahim |
Affiliations | 73 Trade Union Affiliates |
Website | oatuuousa.org |
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 centres in Africa. 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 (ICFTU) and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Finally, also with the help of the Organisation of African Unity (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, economic justice, and social justice 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.[1] The OATUU strives to promote "social and economic justice" in Africa[1] through projects that combat HIV/AIDS, 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 efforts that favour policies conducive to economic development in Africa.
History
Prior to the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity
The first Pan-African trade union organisation, the
Following the Second World War, African workers under colonial rule were split and led to the formation of various independent trade unions across the continent.[4] And after Decolonization of Africa in the 1950s, many regional African trade unions maintained close relations with their respective imperial centres.[4] Following independence, early attempts at Pan-Africanism via union federation were further complicated by Cold War ideological differences. As African nations subscribed to combinations of anti-colonial nationalism, pro-Western capitalism, as well as series of Marxist and socialist alignments within the Eastern Bloc, ideological differences from the 1950s to 1970s obstructed attempts at unity.[4]
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 International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was beginning to grow and destabilize AATUF's resolution to be the sole representative for a Pan-African workers' trade union federation. This led to a partitioning of African trade unions along ideological lines[4] and the AATUF began to align with the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in response to the ATUC’s creation in 1962.[4] The several trade union federation organisations in Africa clashed and interfered with each other and provoked internal conflicts throughout the 1960s.[4]
Rise of the OATUU
The open split between the two unions (AATUF and the ATUC) brought in the involvement of the newly formed
History of General Secretaries
- 1973: Dennis Akumu
- 1980: Ibrahim Ghandour
- 1986: Hassan Sunmonu
- 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 in South Africa.[9] 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.[9] As noted, The OATUU strives to promote "social and economic justice" in Africa[1] dealing with problems like HIV/AIDS, 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 lobbying efforts that would be favourable to union workers across Africa.[10]
List of OATUU Conferences and Notable Events
Date | Conference | Location | Notable Features |
---|---|---|---|
April 1973 | The OATUU inaugural conference | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
|
The OATUU first formed.[11] |
March 18th-20th, 1975 | First OATUU General Council Meeting | Accra, Ghana
|
All national trade union centers in Africa achieve membership in OATUU.[12] |
April 20th-23rd, 1976 | Second OATUU General Council Meeting | Tripoli, Libya | It was decided that research should be conducted on how transnational companies could enhance the development of Africa.[12] |
1978 | ILO’s first conference for National Liberation Movements | Lusaka, Zambia
|
Emphasized the need for collaboration of trade union organisations such as the OATUU with governments to achieve independence.[13] |
1980 | Third OATUU General Council Meeting | Mogadishu, Somalia
|
Highlighting and attempting to unify the ideological and financial divides within the OATUU.[10] |
1985 | Fourth OATUU General Council Meeting | Lagos, Nigeria
|
The conference set out to elect a new chairman, yet no conclusive election of officers took place. Controversies regarding corruption and the general effectiveness of the organisation ensued.[12] |
April 12th-14th, 1994 | OATUU/ECA/ILO Seminar on Democracy and Popular Participation for African Trade Union Leaders | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
|
Established the "Programme of Action to Sustain Democracy and Popular Participation in Development".[14] |
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 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).[15]
Their key vision is to represent workers from all African countries for the “realization of social and economic justice for all”.[16] The OATUU has 12 listed official goals[16] 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, women empowerment, entrepreneurship, health and safety, actions against HIV/AIDS, African economic integration, and trade.[16] 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.[16]
The OATUU acts as an agent representing the economic interests of African governments in international organisations, namely pushing back against
Affiliates
Francophone Affiliates
Anglophone Affiliates
Criticisms
Corruption
The OATUU’s 4th Congress in 1985 held in
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.[19] The financial problems the OATUU experienced in their early years of establishment meant that educational programmes had to be funded by external donor participants.[20] 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, and several other African governments” regardless of its conditionality throughout the 1990s.[20]
Illiteracy
At the "Democracy and Popular Participation for African Trade Union Leaders" seminar held in
See also
- List of federations of trade unions
- African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC)
- Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
- Pan-Africanism
- All-African People’s Conference (AAPC)
- All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF)
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c OATUU (2021). "OATUU About Us". The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ Rowe, Abbie (1961-03-08), Kwame Nkrumah during a state visit to the United States, retrieved 2022-03-17
- ISBN 0-9543811-5-7.
- ^ JSTOR 24328613.
- ^ photographer, Israeli GPO (1962-01-22), English: Secretary General of the Kenya Federation of Labor, Tom Mboya and his wife Pamela, during their honeymoon in Israel., retrieved 2022-03-17
- ^ JSTOR 24328613.
- ^ S2CID 149187027.
- ^ OATUU (2021). "OATUU About Us". The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ S2CID 149187027.
- ^ OCLC 1239962735.
- JSTOR 24328613.
- ^ .
- S2CID 149187027.
- ^ OATUU, ILO, and ECA (April 1994). "Seminar on Democracy and Popular Participation for African Trade Union Leaders: Seminar Report". United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. 13: 21.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ OATUU (2021). "OATUU Affiliates". The Organization of African Trade Union Unity. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d OATUU (2021). "OATUU About Us". The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ISBN 0-9543811-5-7.
- ^ OCLC 1239962735.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link - ^ S2CID 149187027.
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d OATUU, ILO, and ECA (April 1994). "Seminar on Democracy and Popular Participation for African Trade Union Leaders: Seminar Report". United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. 13: 23–4.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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. ISBN 0-9543811-5-7
- 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.