Back to the Roots: Why African Trade Unions Must Rekindle Their Socialist Spirit
Introduction: The Crisis Isn’t Just Economic; It’s Ideological
Trade unions across Africa are at a crossroads. Buffeted by rising informality, weakened bargaining power, and elite capture, the once-mighty labour movement now finds itself struggling to remain relevant in a neoliberal economy it helped to birth, albeit unintentionally.
Nowhere is this more evident than in South Africa, where labour federations like COSATU; once central to the anti-apartheid struggle, have drifted far from their foundational values. In a recent thought-provoking piece for the Mail & Guardian, Donovan E. Williams argues that unions must return to their socialist and working-class origins if they are to survive and serve the people they claim to represent.
From Liberation Vehicles to Bureaucratic Shells
During apartheid, unions like COSATU were more than worker representatives. They were ideological engines of social change, aligning themselves with the Freedom Charter, resisting racial capitalism, and forming the bedrock of working-class consciousness.
But after 1994, Williams argues, many unions became defensive rather than visionary. They resisted policies like the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy, yet offered no comprehensive alternative to neoliberalism. Worse still, many leaders entered into tripartite alliance structures that compromised union autonomy.
Today, as workers suffer under austerity, inflation, and contract work, unions seem more reactive than radical. Their failure to organise in emerging sectors like delivery, ride-hailing, and call centres reveals a troubling gap between the old guard of formal labour and the new realities of precarious work.
A Continental Pattern: Elite Capture and Working-Class Decline
South Africa’s crisis is not unique. Across the continent, trade unions have been weakened by a combination of state repression, donor dependence, and internal fragmentation. But they also face relentless pressure from capital; manifested in media rhetoric that paints unions as outdated, obstructive, or self-serving. This narrative, often driven by corporate interests, erodes public support and isolates organised labour from the very communities they aim to defend. As unions are vilified or dismissed in the court of public opinion, their bargaining power diminishes, leaving workers more vulnerable to exploitation under the guise of “economic growth” and “efficiency.”
In Nigeria, once-vibrant federations like the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) now struggle with internal divisions and political interference, most recently seen in the crisis engulfing the Labour Party.
In Kenya, trade unions have faced criticism for failing to represent informal and gig economy workers, despite major reforms like the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) threatening jobs in healthcare and education.
In Uganda, while progressive reforms like the OSH (Amendment) Bill of 2023 attempt to extend protection to all workers, the labour movement remains urban, male-dominated, and disconnected from the countryside where most workers live.
What unites these crises is the loss of ideological clarity. As unions professionalised and partnered more closely with governments and employers, many traded their radical, transformative vision for technocratic legitimacy and institutional acceptance. This shift has often led to economism; a narrow focus on wages, benefits, and conditions for existing members, at the expense of broader structural struggles. In prioritising immediate material gains, unions have sometimes retreated from confronting deeper systems of exploitation, such as patriarchy, racism, or global capitalism; or building solidarity with informal, migrant, or unemployed workers. The result is a labour movement that risks becoming insular, reactive, and politically fragmented, rather than expansive, visionary, and rooted in mass mobilisation.
Rebuilding from Below: Socialist Principles for the Present Moment
Returning to socialist values doesn’t mean a nostalgic return to slogans. It means realigning with the core tenets of class struggle, worker control, and collective ownership of decisions and futures.
Here’s what that could look like:
Organise where workers are: This means going beyond mines and factories to engage boda boda riders, domestic workers, delivery drivers, and hawkers. These workers are the new working class and they are currently unprotected.
Democratise internally: Many unions are failing not because of external forces, but because of internal rot. Leadership renewal, transparency, and member-driven policy are essential.
Invest in worker education: Revive “worker schools” as spaces for political and economic literacy; not just compliance training.
Forge new alliances: The struggle is no longer just about wages. Unions must build coalitions with feminist movements, climate activists, and youth formations, creating a united front against capital and extraction.
Reclaim the state: While independence from the state is vital, so too is the ability to challenge neoliberal governance models and propose alternatives; unions must be political, not just policy-minded.
Conclusion: Either a Return to Roots or Irrelevance
If African trade unions fail to reimagine their role in this current crisis, they risk becoming museum pieces; relics of a glorious past, but useless to the present struggle.
Socialism, in this context, is not about dogma. It’s about returning to the idea that workers should own their power, determine their future, and resist being mere pawns in economic policy debates.
The time for trade unions to decide is now. Either they reconnect with their revolutionary roots, or they fade into irrelevance.
References
Donovan E. Williams. (2025, May 19). Trade unions, return to your socialist values and origins. Mail & Guardian. Link