Executive Director of the Ghana Chapter of the AfriKan Continental Union Consult (ACUC) Dr. Benjamin Anyagre Aziginaateeg, has called on the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) to abandon what he describes as passivity and reclaim its historic mandate as a continental force for Africa’s economic and social transformation.
According to him, OATUU remains a “sleeping giant” despite its vast representation of workers across Africa’s formal and informal sectors, including farmers, artisans, market women and allied labour groups, whose collective strength could be mobilised to confront neo-colonial governance structures and economic exploitation on the continent.
“The Organization of African Trade Union Unity remains a sleeping giant — a formidable representative of workers across Africa’s formal sector, as well as informal workers, peasant farmers, market women, artisans, and allied labour constituencies. Within African trade union circles, OATUU possesses an immense, yet underutilized, mobilizing power.”
He said OATUU must reposition itself as a purposive continental actor capable of challenging what he described as proxy administrations and anti-African governance structures that operate under distorted democratic practices.
Dr. Anyagre stressed that the reawakening of OATUU is both urgent and strategic, noting that organised labour has historically played a decisive role in political liberation and social justice movements across Africa.
“OATUU cannot remain passive but purposive in action. It must assert itself as a continental force capable of weakening — and ultimately defeating — these retrogressive systems through organized labour solidarity, policy engagement, and strategic social partnership.”
He further called on OATUU to align its mandate more deliberately with Pan-African objectives, including the long-standing vision of a Continental Union Government, by actively mobilising workers as agents of continental integration.
He further urged OATUU to champion the domestication and implementation of the African Union Decision on the African Passport and the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, which he said remain critical to Africa’s economic emancipation.
According to him, frameworks in the Lagos Plan of Action, the Abuja Treaty and Agenda 2063, have the potential to boost intra-African trade, expand employment opportunities, strengthen labour mobility and lift millions of Africans out of poverty when fully implemented alongside the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“Africa does not lack vision — it lacks coordinated execution. Organized labour has historically been a catalyst for political liberation and social justice, and today OATUU must reclaim that legacy.”
He cited the November 21, 2025 free roaming agreement between Ghana and Burkina Faso as proof that regional integration is achievable when institutions act decisively, arguing that similar cooperation could be extended to transport, vehicular licensing and other cross-border systems.
Dr. Anyagre called on OATUU to lead public education and stakeholder engagement on free movement and continental integration, while partnering governments on worker registration, population data mobilisation and citizen sensitisation.
“The moment demands courage, clarity and commitment. With discipline and results-driven leadership, OATUU can rise to the moment. The giant must awaken.”
