This paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well... Show moreThis paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well-developed and culturally embedded local institutions that have organized and represented the (informal) workersactive in markets. A prominent example is the market queens, who (cl)aim to oversee, protect and promote markets vis-a-vis the public and the (municipal) government. Yet, these social structures are not easily recognized as a kind of social movement by (inter)national trade unions. Hence trade unioninterventions and outreaches aimed at ameliorating the plight of informal workers tend to bypass and antagonize these existing formations, fuelling competition and division in the already fragmented and inherently competitive market space. Based on 2.5 year-long ethnographic research on strategic actors in inclusive development with a focus on informal workers, this article draws attention to empirical realities in Ghana. It demonstrates that bypassing culturally embedded groups is problematic because it feeds fragmentation and thus limits the possibilities for collective action. Show less
This paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well... Show moreThis paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well-developed and culturally embedded local institutions that have organized and represented the (informal) workersactive in markets. A prominent example is the market queens, who (cl)aim to oversee, protect and promote markets vis-a-vis the public and the (municipal) government. Yet, these social structures are not easily recognized as a kind of social movement by (inter)national trade unions. Hence trade unioninterventions and outreaches aimed at ameliorating the plight of informal workers tend to bypass and antagonize these existing formations, fuelling competition and division in the already fragmented and inherently competitive market space. Based on 2.5 year-long ethnographic research on strategic actors in inclusive development with a focus on informal workers, this article draws attention to empirical realities in Ghana. It demonstrates that bypassing culturally embedded groups is problematic because it feeds fragmentation and thus limits the possibilities for collective action. Show less
This article examines the impact of current neoliberal political reforms on trade union performance in West and Central Africa. To what extent have trade unions been involved in the political... Show moreThis article examines the impact of current neoliberal political reforms on trade union performance in West and Central Africa. To what extent have trade unions been involved in the political restructuring of the State? Has political liberalization constrained or enhanced their political influence and ability to defend their members' interests? The article offers a comparative study of the role of trade unions in two African countries, Ghana and Cameroon. Trade union responses to economic and political liberalization appear to be quite different in these countries: generally positive in Ghana and clearly negative in Cameroon. The author argues that a range of factors is responsible for this situation, including differences in the impact of structural adjustment, the nature of the State and State-society relations, the organizational capacity of the unions, their relationship with political parties and other civil-society organizations, and their search for innovative ways to respond to neoliberal reforms. In Ghana, there have been significant changes in State-trade union relations, while the Cameroonian case has been characterized by a remarkable degree of continuity in these relations. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
