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StreetNet-UNI fact-finding mission to Francophone West Africa

StreetNet International Co-ordinator Pat Horn, and Zakari Koudougou, senior programme officer of the Global Union Federation UNI (Union Network International), met with organisations in seven West African countries during a two week trip from 10-25th October 2004, to gather information on informal economy organisation in the region. The fact-finding mission was the first step in a process of strengthening alliances and linkages between UNI affiliates in the commerce sector, informal economy trade union organisations and organisations of street and market traders and hawkers in Francophone Africa. During the visit, meetings were held with trade unions that are organising informal economy workers, with national trade union centres in the respective countries, and organisations of market and street vendors. The organisations we met with are described below. 

Senegal

SNECCS (Syndicat National des Employes et Cadres du Commerce du Senegal) have started to try to organise street vendors and to work with organised women’s groups of vendors.

CNTS, one of the country’s national trade union centres, has a programme Syndicalisation des Femmes which includes women working in the informal economy. They work with the women’s committees in each union to integrate the women they have organised into the different unions. SNECCS is affiliated to CNTS. 

SYNTRAS (Syndicat National des Travailleurs de la Sante – health workers) and SUDEMS (Syndicat Democratique des Mareyeurs du Senegal – fish vendors, distributors and processors) are affiliated to the CSA trade union centre in Senegal. CSA has 53 affiliates most of them being concerned with the informal economy. SYNTRAS formed in 2000 and has a combination of formal and informal members numbering 5000. Many are community health workers who work in Associations de Sante Communitaire (ASCs). SUDEMS also has approximately 5000 members, and was formed first as a federation, and then became a union. Its members are responsible for the distribution of fish throughout Senegal. 

Guinee

We met with the following organisations:

  • CNTG (trade union centre affiliated to StreetNet)

  • FESABAG (bank union affiliated to trade union centre USTG and UNI)

  • SYNCOTEG (hairdressers union affiliated to USTG and UNI)

CNTG was originally the only trade union centre in Guinee, but since the advent of pluralism in 1984, there are at least seven trade union centres, one of which is USTG. 

CNTG reported that they have assisted nine organisations to access credit. Mariama Penda of FESABAG-USTG said she had started to look at working with savings clubs (tontines) to help women in the informal economy to access credit. They also organise artists and musicians, and informal money-changers (cambistes). 

SYNCOTEG-USTG is an informal workers’ union in the commerce sector. The union has organised occupational and literacy training. They would like to organise health insurance and sensitisation on HIV/AIDS. 

There are many women working in the informal economy and the Ministry of Social Affairs has helped women to get organised through a co-operative, SACCO (Service d’Assistance de Coordination a Cooperatives et ONGs) which extends services and resources to trade unions. 

The following joint organising initiatives were proposed:

  • to form a coalition of informal associations of the union centres CNTG and USTG, with a joint committee to administer the programme in Guinee;

  • involve the ILO, which deals with trade union leaders in the Commission Consultative du Travail;

  • training in literacy and self-confidence;

  • CNTG to assist USTG to solve the credit problems of their members;

  • education on laws which exist for the protection of informal workers;

  • to develop an organising strategy for all the markets of Guinee;

  • capacity-building (awareness, education, training trainers).

Mali

CSTM (Confederation Syndicale des Travailleurs du Mali) started an informal economy section in 2003 and are working on projects in the informal fishing industry, with vendors of sand, in the hotel and tourism industry, with a weaving project as well as an agricultural project. They work with the federation of associations, GACDM (Groupement de Associations de Commercants Detaillants du Mali). FAFCM (Association des Femmes Commercantes et Entrepreneurs du Mali) is one of GACDM’s affiliates and, it in turn, consists of 102 women’s associations. FAFCM contacted CSTM after seeing a TV programme publicising their informal economy projects. They are organising the vendors in the 59 markets of Bamako into associations to invite into a new federation. 

Togo

We were informed that CSTT and CNTT are the main trade union centres working in the informal economy. CSTT has a support structure for women in the informal economy (FAFSI – Fond d’Appui aux Femmes de Secteur Informel) which runs a health mutual, that provides medical benefits for women and their children, and cheaper generic medicines. SYNECTO (UNI affiliate in the commerce sector) have tried to organise informal vendors because they had problems with the municipality. However, they encountered problems in collecting subscriptions and with conflicts between the vendors. 

Benin

A meeting was held with USYNVEPID-CSPIB, SYNAVAMAB-UNSTB, two unions that are organising vendors in the Dantokpa market in Cotonou, to discuss possibilities for joint activities. Members of the two unions explained the problems they have with negotiations with the market authorities, and that it is difficult to achieve satisfactory results. They have undertaken a programme of cleaning the market and of re-education of street children. SYNAVAMAB has acquired land and is collecting contributions for the erection of a building for a crèche for pre-school children. The following possible joint activities were identified:

  • negotiations training;

  • project management skills (with the simultaneous development of a manual on project management);

  • literacy classes;

  • a programme on child labour with the involvement of the ILO.

At the Dantokpa market we met the Director General of SOGEMA (Societe de Gestion des Marches Autonomes, the organisation which runs the market). There are about 48 000 people in the market at any one time, including:

  • 18 500 vendors with selling sites;

  • another approx. 3 000 people who assist the vendors;

  • approx. 5 000 clients at any time;

  • approx. 8 000 other mobile hawkers and wholesalers. 

There are 10 associations, and two unions (SYNAVAMAB and USYNVEPID). SOGEMA is encouraging a federation of all the market organisations. This would make it easier to work jointly with them. SOGEMA is discussing building a crèche and a bank in the market for the vendors. 

Burkina Faso

FESTRACOM (Federation Syndicale de Travailleurs de Commerce) in Pouytenga is an informal commerce union which is 10 years old. Most of the members are illiterate, and 70% are women. The organisation needs to develop demands to present to the municipality for negotiation. 

The government of Burkina Faso prepared a very informative publication (Guide pratique du secteur informel au Burkina Faso) on the informal economy for the African Union Summit on Employment which was held in Ouagadougou in September 2004. 

Comite Syndicale de Coordination du Secteur de Economie Informelle, is an informal economy project currently in progress with the ILO, chaired by Mamadou NAMA of USTB (Union Syndicale des Travailleurs du Burkina). They are preparing to form a federation of the organisations in the informal economy that are affiliated to the different trade union centres in the country.

Niger

SNTIN (Syndicat National des Travailleurs de l’Industrie du Niger) have organised vendors of purified water into the Association Pure Water. As an affiliate of SNTIN, the Association has received assistance with training and capacity-building. Two priorities for the association are micro-finance for members, and improving expertise in marketing and distribution, import and export. 

In Niger there is also an ILO project co-ordinating the process of organising workers in the informal economy in the four different trade union centres (USTN, UGTN, CDTN and CNT). It was agreed that the national centres have to start implementing the programme. If the joint programme could establish an alliance or federation of informal economy organisations, this body could then apply to affiliate to the international organisations of their choice.

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