Unions in Guinea

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The trade unions have traditionally had a strong position in Guinea and the history of the country from the late French colonial period to the present day is closely linked to the activities of trade unions . Even though only around 50,000 workers, mainly in the public and formal sectors of the economy, are unionized in Guinea today, the two most important trade unions in the country represent 75% of those working in the formal sector and are particularly well organized in the public sector.

Four national trade union confederations are important today:

The first three associations mentioned are affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation ITUC , and the UDTG aims to do so.

During the political disputes over the democratization of Guinea in recent years, the umbrella organizations appeared together and signed, for example, For example, in the case of the strikes that marked the beginning of the democratization of Guinea in 2006/2007 , agreements jointly with “Intercentrale CNTG-USTG- élargie à l'ONSLG et à l'UDTG” (free: Common umbrella organization CNTG-USTG - expanded to include ONSLG and UDTG).

History of the Guinean Trade Unions

The early days of the Guinean trade unions during French colonial rule are closely linked to Sékou Tourés , who later became President of Guinea for many years. In the early 1940s he organized the first strike ever in French West Africa (of which Guinea was a part) and in 1945 founded the country's first trade union (for post and telecommunications workers) as a subdivision of the communist trade union Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) des French "motherland". It was on his initiative that the first trade union confederation of French Guinea , the Union Territoriale des Syndicats de Guinée , UTSG, was founded in 1946.

In the 1950s, trade unions intervened in the dispute over Guinea's aspirations for independence and in 1953, organized by Sekou Tourés, successfully carried out an anti-colonial strike.

With the country's independence in 1956, the union leader Sekou Touré became president of the country and the Guinean section of the French CGT renamed itself the Confédération Nationale des Travailleurs de Guinée (CNTG, Confederation of Guinean Workers), which is still the most powerful union confederation in the country.

In 2007, unions heralded the end of the dictatorial regime of President Lansana Conté . In February 2007, the four big trade union confederations called for a general strike , which was largely followed , and which turned into a popular uprising within a few days and forced Conté to meet various demands of the democracy movement. Rabiatou Serah Diallo , General Secretary of the above-mentioned CNTG, played a central role in this .

On January 19, 2010, Jean-Marie Doré , spokesman for the Forces Vives opposition alliance made up of trade unions and political parties , and Rabiatou Serah Diallo, Secretary General of the CNTG as deputy prime minister , were two well-known representatives of Guinean civil society.

swell

  1. ↑ Guinea. Unions. Federal Foreign Office, February 1, 2011, accessed on March 23, 2011 .
  2. ^ Spotlight Interview with Rabiatou Diallo (CNTG - Guinea). on: ituc-csi.org , April 22, 2007.
  3. ↑ a b Ahmed Sékou Touré. at: africanhistory.about.com
  4. ↑ (Linard, André?) Rabiatou Sera Diallo: Le syndicalisme, c'est comme l'eau: c'est la vie. In: G. Fonteneau, N. Madounga (eds.): Histoire du syndicalisme en Afrique. Karthala 2004, ISBN 2-8458-6585-6 , p. 140
  5. ↑ Adama Sow: Chances and Risks of NGOs - The trade unions in Guinea during the unrest 2007. ( Memento of June 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: EPU Research Papers. 03/07, Stadtschlaining 2007, pp. 15–22.