The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) joined leaders from across East Africa and beyond at the Regional Strategic Symposium organised by the East African Trade Union Confederation (EATUC) to address one of the most urgent questions facing the African labour movement today: how can trade unions transform to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world of work?

In his address, OATUU Secretary-General, Brother Arezki Mezhoud underscored both the urgency and the opportunity of this moment. He reminded delegates that the African trade union movement which is rooted in the historic struggles for decolonisation, democracy, and social justice, must now reinvent itself to address new realities:

• Technological upheavals and the rise of platform work
• Precarious and atypical employment
• Expanding informal economies
• Climate change and rising conflicts
• Shifting worker expectations and generational priorities

“These forces are reshaping not only how people work,” Mr. Mezhoud warned, “but also how unions must organise, mobilise, and defend workers’ rights.”

He called for a trade unionism that is modern, inclusive, and representative—capable of embracing all categories of workers, from the formal to the informal sector, while staying firmly anchored in Pan-African values. Such renewal, he stressed, requires diagnosing the current state of the movement, addressing internal weaknesses, and revitalising activism and commitment at the grassroots level.

“This symposium is not just a conversation,” Mezhoud declared. “It is a call to action—to rethink and to reinvent the African trade union movement for the 21st century and beyond.”