skip to main |
skip to sidebar
 |
| Baba Aye |
The West African Health Sector Unions’ Network (WAHSUN) held its second biennial conference in April this year in Cotonou, Benin. WAHSUN has inspired the establishment of similar networks elsewhere, particularly in Africa, so WAHSUN’s development holds great hope for deepening trans-national unionism on the African continent. This article describes the origin and development of WAHSUN and assesses the challenges and opportunities that its consolidation represents, in the hope that this could inspire other creative efforts to further solidarity of workers across borders.
Origins and development of WAHSUN
The idea of establishing the network was first suggested in 2004 in Accra, Ghana, during that year’s annual review and planning workshop of the English-speaking (East and West) Africa sub-region of the Public Services International (PSI). Participants from the health sector unions of different countries recognised that they faced similar attacks against jobs and trade union rights under the guise of ‘public sector reforms’1. Two years later, PSI organised a meeting for leaders of these unions where a memorandum of agreement was signed to form a sub-regional network to defend public healthcare delivery and health workers.
On 9 November 2007, WAHSUN was established at Abuja, Nigeria. The unions which founded WAHSUN were the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, the Health Services Workers’ Union of the Ghana TUC, the National Union of Private Health Sector Workers of Liberia, and the Sierra Leonean Health Services Workers’ Union (SLEHSWU). Officials of the Ugandan government and the health employees union were present as observers.
 |
| Cäcilie Schildberg |
 |
| Mohamed Attaallah |
In 2012, the international community adopted Recommendation 202, concerning national floors of social protection, in the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva. The recommendation calls on the 184 member states to implement nationally defined guarantees of income security from childhood through economically active age to old age, as well as access to essential health care. The need for universal social protection policies was acknowledged and reinforced by heads of states in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September 2015 in New York.
But moving governments from easy promises at the global level to real policy action at the national level only happens, in many cases, under pressure. How can implementation of social protection policies be supported?
The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, founded in March 2012, played an important role in pushing for a strong recommendation at the ILC in 2012 (Global Coalition, n.d.). The coalition is a network of more than 90 civil society and trade union umbrella organisations committed to supporting social protection floors as key instruments to realise the human right to social security and the advancement of social justice. The Global Coalition represents millions of people organised in or affiliated to the umbrella organisations that are members of the Global Coalition.
