Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa

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OTUWA
Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa
Founded1983
Headquarters
Key people
John Ejoha Odah, Executive Secretary

The Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA; French: Organisation des syndicats d'Afrique de l'Ouest, Portuguese: Organização dos Sindicatos da África Ocidental) is a coalition of national trade union centres in West Africa.[1] OTUWA was founded in 1983 in Conakry, Guinea, and is currently led by executive secretary John Ejoha Odah.

History[edit]

In 1986, OTUWA was accorded consultative status by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as the representative organisation of trade unions in West Africa.[2] OTUWA supports the integration of process of ECOWAS, while calling for reductions in unemployment, integration of young workers into labour markets and the protection of migrant workers.[3]

In 2015, as part of a revival process, the headquarters of OTUWA was moved from Abidjan to Abuja in order to be closer to the ECOWAS secretariat.[4] In 2017, OTUWA was critical of the ECOWAS states for the lack of growth in the region and called for measures to facilitate development.[5] As of 2020, OTUWA has affiliates in all 15 ECOWAS states.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "About us – OTUWA". Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. ^ Onoja, Adagbo (July 2020). "Mapping OTUWA Engagement With ECOWAS" (PDF). OTUWA/FES. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  3. ^ Robert, René (December 2004). "The Social Dimension of Regional Integration in ECOWAS" (PDF). Geneva: International Labour Office. p. 27. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  4. ^ Olayinka, Collins (27 October 2015). "Nigeria, others move to revive West Africa trade union". The Guardian Nigeria News. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  5. ^ Olayinka, Collins (28 February 2017). "NLC, OTUWA bemoan inability of ECOWAS to promote growth". The Guardian (Nigeria). Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  6. ^ "OTUWA – Organization of Trade Unions of West Africa". Retrieved 20 November 2020.