This book investigates the state of trade unionism in Africa's most populous regional economic zone. With the exception of the former British colonies of Nigeria and Ghana, surprisingly little has been written on the trade union movements that have played such pivotal roles in the histories of the fifteen countries that comprise the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Trade Unions in West Africa is the story of how trade unions, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, have achieved a measure of success and how they remain today a weakened but still potent source of potential change in one of the most politically and economically troubled regions in the world. As the chapters in this book make clear, one of the brightest hopes for the continent is the strength of its civil society, and in West Africa, trade unionism has long been at the forefront of civil society's efforts to make a difference.

Craig Phelan is editor of the journal Labor History and Professor of Modern History at Kingston University London.

Contents: Craig Phelan: West African Trade Unionism Past and Present - Anne-Catherine Wagner: The Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) in West Africa: The Difficulties of Constructing Trade Union Internationalism - James A. Jones: The 1947-1948 Railway Strike in French West Africa - Elizabeth Schmidt: Trade Unions and Nationalism in French Guinea, 1945-1958 - David Perfect: Trade Unions in The Gambia, 1929-2010 - Azizou Chabi Imorou: Trade Unionism among Teachers in Benin since 1945 - Kwamina Panford: Trade Unions, Democratic Transition and Organisational Challenge: The Ghana Trades Union Congress, 1989-2009 - Ousmane Oumarou Sidibe: Political Pluralism and the Trade Union Movement in Mali - Akua Britwum: Trade Unions and the Informal Economy in Ghana - Mohamed Saliou Camara: Trade Unions and Politics in Guinea since Independence - George Minet: On Social Partnership in West Africa.