By Michael Oche
The Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) has called on governments across the sub-region to allocate at least five per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to social protection, warning that inadequate funding continues to leave millions of workers vulnerable to poverty, ill-health and economic hardship.
The organisation said increased investment in social protection was critical to expanding access to social security benefits, particularly for informal-sector workers, who make up a significant proportion of the workforce in many West African countries but remain largely excluded from formal protection systems.
Executive Secretary of OTUWA, Comrade John Odah, made the call on Monday in Abuja during a regional workshop on the ECOWAS Framework on Social Protection and its Operational Plan (2024–2028), organised in collaboration with the Danish Trade Union Development Agency (DTDA).
Odah said Nigeria currently spends less than one per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on social protection, stressing the need for governments to significantly increase funding to ensure that vulnerable citizens have access to essential services and can live with dignity.
“In Nigeria, for instance, less than one per cent of our gross domestic product is devoted to social protection. We believe that at least five per cent of our gross national product should be allocated to social protection,” he said.
He urged governments to expand social protection beyond formal employment, noting that millions of people in the informal economy lack access to basic social security benefits.
According to him, while many formal and private-sector organisations provide benefits such as maternity protection and health insurance to their employees, similar arrangements remain largely unavailable to those outside formal employment.
“What happens to those who are not in formal employment? What happens to the millions of people working in the informal economy who do not have access to these protections?” he asked.
Odah said the ECOWAS framework provided an opportunity for trade unions to advocate policies that address the needs of vulnerable populations, including people who struggle to afford medical care, nutritious meals and adequate housing.
He noted that although governments, including Nigeria, commit resources to humanitarian interventions, concerns remain about whether such assistance reaches those who need it most.
“This is where trade unions and other relevant organisations must engage with the ECOWAS Framework on Social Protection and its Operational Plan. We must use the framework to strengthen social dialogue and ensure that governments introduce and expand social protection measures that address people’s actual needs,” he said.
The OTUWA executive secretary identified health insurance, old-age pensions and decent shelter for people unable to afford housing as some of the key areas governments should prioritise.
He maintained that social security should not be viewed merely as an additional financial burden on governments, but as a necessary investment in preventing extreme poverty and protecting vulnerable people from destitution.
In her address, Acting President of OTUWA, Comrade Sophie Kourouma, said West Africa continued to lag behind other regions in social protection coverage, calling for stronger participation by trade unions and civil society organisations in implementing the regional framework.
Kourouma disclosed that only 16 per cent of West Africa’s population received at least one social protection benefit, compared with the African average of 19.1 per cent.
She described the ECOWAS Framework on Social Protection and its Operational Plan for 2024–2028 as a key regional policy instrument for strengthening and expanding social protection systems across member states.
According to her, the two-day workshop was designed to identify opportunities for trade unions and civil society organisations to influence the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the framework at national and regional levels.
She said participants would also examine the links between social protection, climate change, just transition and gender equality, while developing practical action plans to strengthen advocacy in their respective countries.
Kourouma stressed that the workshop should produce concrete strategies for engagement and not end with discussions alone.
Also speaking, Head of the DTDA Sub-Regional Office in Lomé, Togo, Liliane Napoe, described the low level of social protection coverage and public investment across West Africa as a major challenge for workers, particularly those in the informal economy.
Napoe said only about 16 per cent of West Africans received at least one social protection benefit, while public spending on social protection averaged less than one per cent of GDP.
She said the situation required trade unions to move beyond policy discussions and play an active role in ensuring that governments translated regional commitments into tangible benefits for workers.
“For trade unions, this framework is both an immense opportunity and an urgent call to action. Regional policies require the robust, early engagement of workers’ legitimate representatives,” she said.
Napoe added that trade unions must be actively involved in national implementation processes, strengthen their institutional capacity and develop strategies to hold governments accountable for their commitments.
She also called for social protection policies that address the specific vulnerabilities of women, informal workers, migrant workers and communities whose livelihoods are threatened by climate change.
According to her, climate shocks directly affect informal livelihoods in agriculture and coastal economies, underscoring the need for adaptive social protection systems and a just transition.
The DTDA representative further emphasised the importance of extending social protection to cross-border informal traders and migrant workers across the ECOWAS region, arguing that freedom of movement should be accompanied by access to social security.
The workshop brought together trade union leaders, social protection specialists, women’s committee representatives and young trade unionists from Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Participants are expected to review the ECOWAS framework, consider lessons from the International Labour Organisation’s Global Social Protection Report 2024–2026 and develop national action plans to strengthen trade union engagement.
The meeting forms part of broader efforts by OTUWA and its partners to strengthen social protection advocacy and ensure that the regional framework translates into practical improvements in the lives of workers and vulnerable populations across West Africa.
