Trade unions in Sierra Leone first emerged in the period around World War I, with reports indicating that civil servants organised unions as early as 1912. The Railway Workers Union was founded in 1919. In the late 1930s, trade unions affiliated to the Youth League formed the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to coordinate actions within the labour movement. In 1940, trade unions were legalised. In 1946 tripartite bargaining councils were established that incorporated trade unions for minimum wage and sectoral bargaining with employers. The Sierra Leone Labour Congress (SLLC) was founded in 1976. Although the country's civil war at the end of the 20th Century had a devastating effect on the labour movement, unions played an important role in nonviolent resistance, launching a national strike in the immediate aftermath of the 1997 coup by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. Since the end of the civil war, trade unionism in the informal sector has grown.
Existing unions +Collective Bargaining Agreements - Formal Sector (2022)MembersCBAsCBA coverageArtisans Public Works of Services Employees Union2,600612,000Clerical Banking Insurance Accounting Petroleum Union3,010715,000Construction Workers Union2,50018,000Electricity Employees Union2,200120,000Hotel Food Drinks Tobacco Entertainment Workers Unions580214,000Union of Mass Media, Financial Institutions, Chemical Industries & General Workers1,500213,000Maritime & Waterfront Workers Union1,500213,000Municipal & General Government Employees Union1,00023,000National Union of Civil Servants1,50018,000National Union of Forestry & Agricultural Workers1,50038,000Sierra Leone Fishermen's Union1,60013,000Sierra Leone Dockworkers Union1,50014,000Sierra Leone Health Services Union4,000116,000Sierra Leone National Seamen's Union1,55011,500Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union36,000140,000Sierra Leone Union of Postal & Telecommunications Employees Union1,05412,500Sierra Leone Reporter Union450––Sierra Leone Union of Security, Watchmen & General Workers3,20025,000Skilled & Manual Productive Workers Union81041,300United Mine Workers Union1,60216,000Union of Railway Plantation, Minerals, Industry & Construction30011,000Sierra Leone Port Authority Senior Staff Association82–– +Collective Bargaining Agreements - Informal Sector (2022)MembersCBAsCBA coverageIndigenous Petty Traders Association55,000––Indigenous Photographers’ Union1,000––Sierra Leone Artisanal Fishermen's Union17,106––Sierra Leone Traders Union105,000––Sierra Leone Musicians Union500––Sierra Leone Bike Riders Union120,000––Motor Drivers & General Transport Workers Union50,00011,000Union of Timber Factory Owners & Workers1,237––Sierra Leone Commercial Tricycle Riders Union700––Sierra Leone Technicians Union700––Home and General Workers Union1,500––Omolankay Whellbarrow & Porters Union1,000––
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