Truck Drivers Align With ITF Affiliate To Building Collective Strength Across Borders

120 cross-border truck drivers has joined the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers’ Union of Uganda (ATGWU), raising the union’s membership in this sector to nearly 650 workers, the International Transport Workers Federation ITF has disclosed.

“These drivers are showing real leadership building collective strength across borders,” said ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton.

“By joining ATGWU these workers are securing the full backing of both the union and the global union movement to confront informal employment, long hours, low pay, complications at border crossings, violence and harassment at work, and inadequate rest facilities. Their decision to stand together is a powerful reminder of the impact workers can have when they organise.”

Members of the Namanve Park Drivers Association (NIPDA) became the fourth informal drivers’ association to affiliate to ATGWU.

The union is part of a multi-year ITF project with East African road transport, warehousing and dockers’ unions – supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) – to build trade union power in key product supply chains.

A central focus of the project is organising cross-border truck drivers who work along the northern corridor which runs from Kenya through Uganda to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In November 2024, ITF and East African unions met to map these supply chains and plan their organising strategies.

“Bringing driver together under our union’s umbrella is how we can build worker power along the corridor,” said Stephen Abima, General Secretary of the ATGWU.

“These drivers transport goods to destinations across the northern corridor – including warehouses for multinational corporations like Africa Global Logistics, CEVA Logistics, DHL, Maersk, and Sinotrans – and their collective voice will be pivotal in securing safer, fairer conditions for everyone on the roads.”

Together with newly organised drivers, ITF is calling on industry and government leaders to implement the International Labour Organization (ILO) Guidelines on the promotion of decent work and road safety in the transport sector, which call on governments, transport companies and lead firms to take joint responsibility for fair and safe working conditions in the sector.