“Social dialogue is completely dead in Benin,” says Anselme Amoussou
Anselme Amoussou, Secretary General of CSA-Bénin, has declared the “death” of social dialogue in Benin during an appearance on the program De vous à nous on Peace FM, Sunday, May 25, 2025.
Anselme AMoussou
According to Amoussou, the country’s consultation bodies have ceased to function, and the authorities have lost the will to sustain any meaningful social dialogue. His remarks sent a strong warning signal during his media appearance on Sunday.
“Social dialogue is completely dead in Benin,” declared Anselme Amoussou, Secretary General of the Confédération des syndicats autonomes du Bénin (CSA-Bénin), sounding the alarm live on Peace FM.
According to the union leader, institutions responsible for facilitating negotiations between the government and social partners have become ineffective due to a lack of political will.
A former leading voice in social struggles during the 2010s and 2020s, Amoussou expressed frustration:
“We are no longer practicing a unionism based on demands and negotiations. Today, we’re forced to fight just to have our right to unionize acknowledged.”
Amoussou pointed to the National Commission for Negotiation—once the centerpiece of social dialogue—as now a hollow shell. He condemned missed sessions, unanswered requests, and meaningless discussions. Even the two employers’ organizations recently included in the commission, Coneb and CNP-Bénin, are disillusioned.