Trade Unions in Africa: Weak but feared by Hubert René Schillinger March 2005 Summary Trade Unions in Africa are weak organisations with many internal problems. Trapped between an ongoing“informalisation” of the African economies on the one hand and the consequences of “neo-liberal globalisation” on the other, they are quite often seen to be a relict of the past. Historically, African labour unions, at first were an importing driving force of the anti-colonial lib­eration struggle, before they transformed into transmission belts of ruling parties and govern­ments after independence. In exchange for giving up fundamental freedoms they received a se­cured status, secure jobs for their members and privileges for their leaders. A rude awakening was caused by the debt crisis in the eighties and the ensuing economic liberalization, which led to massive job losses in the formal economy and a strong decline in union membership. To make matters worse, many governments started to reform their labour laws to the disadvantage of workers. On the other hand, the concomitant political liberalisation created the political space for breaking the close and dependent relationship with government, and provided for the emer­gence of new, independent trade unions. In a number of countries, trade unions played a de­cisive in the removal of autocratic regimes. Although their power to influence wages and working conditions and to defend workers has suffered enormously and tends to be quite weak nowadays, it would be wrong to write-off Afri­can trade union. After a long period which saw virtually no new investment in formal activities taking place in Africa, there are encouraging signs that foreign investment is picking up again, creating new opportunities for trade union organisation. Above all, in many countries unions remain a political force to be reckoned with, as they continue to be one of the very few societal organisations in Africa with a sizeable constituency, country-wide structures and the potential for mobilizing members on social or political matters.