Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 144 TUC has been affiliated to the erstwhile International Confederation of Free Trade Unions(ICFTU). Again, at the continental level, some affiliates of the Ghana TUC were active in forming the Democratic Organisation of African Workers Trade Union Unity (DOAWTU) , 152 an African regional affiliate of erstwhile World Confederation of Labour (WCL) . Since 2007, and, more directly, in response to the challenges of globalisation, the Ghana TUC has been active in establishing the International Trade Union Confederation- Africa (ITUC-Africa) , following a merger of the Regional affiliate structures of the International Confederation of Labour (ICFTU) and the WCL . All these groupings have been vehicles through which organised labour in Ghana has variously influenced the integration agenda. As discussed below, the West African Trade Union Working Group on Trade and Development has been more directly relevant for promoting the regional integration agenda in ECOWAS. Regional Integration in Africa After independence, many African leaders saw regional integration as a central element of their development strategy. This is reasonable and desirable in the light of the colonial fragmentation of Africa into many states with limited market. Before the 1980s, African leaders 153 pursued regional integration schemes as part of the strategy of meeting the continent's daunting development challenges, especially during the cold war era. After the 1980s, African regional integration received renewed attention. The world trade liberalisation process, following the Uruguay round of trade negotiations and the establishment of the World Trade Organisation(WTO), gave additional historical impetus to advance regional integration. With the end of apartheid, another dimension to regionalism is emerging since the anti-colonial struggles are deemed completed and hence the need to focus on economic integration as a basis for social and economic development. Integration, as such, has become a historical imperative for Africa in a globalised, more competitive global market. This imperative has been driving the establishment and development of various regional economic blocs, namely, Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) 1975, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA) 1982, East African Community(EAC) 1999, Arab Maghreb Union(UMA) 1989 and Southern African Development Community (SADC) 1992. All these blocs have been established against the backdrop of African 152 Ghana TUC affiliates, which were active in founding DOAWTU, included General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Construction Building Materials Workers' Union(CMWU), Public Services Workers' Union(PSWU), etc. 153 Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Sekou Toure of Guinea were among prominent leaders who pursued the Pan African ideals.