Trade Unions and Politics in French West Africa during the Fourth Republic

After having described the background to political trade unionism in French West Africa, the article exposes how far the unions were politically motivated and what their main political orientation was; after that it analyses some of the underlying features and intrinsic weaknesses of the trade unions which set limits to their political effectiveness. Up to 1957, when UGTAN was established, the trade unions played no significant part in the evolution towards independence. Even the CGT and UGTAN failed to fulfil the anti-colonialist policies which they at first proclaimed. They were defeated by the lack of political involvement among the main body of workers and the intermediary leadership, and the fact that the main economic interests of these depended on perpetuating the colonial structure.