Organisation of African Trade Union Unity

The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) (French: Organisation de L'Unité Syndicale Africaine; OUSA) is an independent regional union federation aimed at unifying trade union centres in Africa. This organisation was founded in April, 1973 as a successor to two previously competing labour union organisations in Africa: the All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF) and the African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC). The process to unify a Pan-African labour union organisation also involved international labour organisations as decision-making stakeholders like the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Finally, also with the help of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the AATUF and the ATUC merged to form the OATUU. The driving factors for this unification and the creation of the OATUU was to advance Pan-Africanism, economic justice, and social justice throughout African workplaces.

As of 2022, the OATUU has been collaborating with the International Labor organisation (ILO) to be an exclusive, overarching organisation representing African workers' interests. The OATUU has four regional sub-organisations: The Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA); Organisation of Trade Unions of Central Africa (OTUCA); Southern Africa Trade Union Coordinating Council (SATUCC); and the Organisation of Trade Unions of Arab Maghreb (OTUAM). Together, they represent a total of 73 national labour union affiliates, totalling at approximately 25 million individual members.^[1] The OATUU strives to promote "social and economic justice" in Africa^[1] through projects that combat HIV/AIDS, fund women empowerment in the workplace, and support democratisation efforts in African nations. The OATUU receives financial support from the ILO to directly fund these projects as well as lobbying efforts that favour policies conducive to economic development in Africa.