Labour Relations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: An Epic History of an Anti-Unionism Terrain

ABSTRACT This article analyses interactions between trade unions, employers, and the state from a historical perspective. It contributes to literature on African unionism by focusing on particularities of the history of Congolese unionism. Using qualitative research based on interviews and desk research, this paper demonstrates that the Congolese state has often colluded with employers to dominate, repress and control trade unions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Drawing on the global labour history approach, Freund’s notion of African trade unions, Bulhungu’s concept of union–political parties’ relations, and Bulhungu and Tshoaedi’s notion of the pattern of union in post-liberation societies, the paper argues that the Congolese labour market has been an anti-union terrain since the colonial era. Yet it also claims that Congolese unionists have sought to resist the domination of political regimes and employers.