Speaking on the Sunday, May 25, 2025 edition of the “De vous à nous” program on Peace FM, Anselme Amoussou, Secretary General of CSA Bénin, painted a grim picture of the state of union activism and workers’ rights in Benin.
In a frank and direct interview, Amoussou condemned what he described as an ongoing climate of repression against workers and the manipulation of institutions to the detriment of basic freedoms. “Workers’ morale is at its lowest,” he declared.
According to him, the memory of the May 1, 2024 events—when a peaceful demonstration was met with police repression—remains fresh. And once again this year, he said, the same tragic pattern repeated itself.
Reacting to the arrest of union leaders during the 2025 Labor Day events, Amoussou denounced what he sees as an authoritarian drift. “When you see what’s happening elsewhere in Africa—workers marching and demonstrating freely—you can’t help but feel sorrow over what’s going on at home,” he lamented.
But far from resigning himself, the union leader struck a defiant tone. “We are disheartened, but we are determined,” he insisted. For him, ongoing reforms must not become a pretext for dismantling workers’ fundamental rights. That conviction underpins his call for a reinvention of the labor movement, one better adapted to the country’s evolving political and economic realities.
“We, the workers, are the ones who generate the wealth—not the decision-makers,” he emphasized. On the Peace FM program, Amoussou also highlighted the moral and historical responsibility of those in power toward the people who put them there. “We cannot let them destroy our legacy,” he warned.
In a context where the balance of power appears heavily skewed, he argued that Benin’s labor movement must reorganize, regain its footing, and—above all—preserve its soul. “This life belongs to us, and so does this country,” he concluded, calling for widespread civic mobilization to achieve a genuine, participatory democracy that respects everyone’s rights.