Strategic partnerships
RSMMS
While the mandate and immediate scope of action of trade unions are strongly linked to national borders, in the case of migration they are directly confronted with the effects of a phenomenon that is, by definition, transnational in nature.
Migration poses the challenge for institutional and civil society actors to develop new modes of operation that cannot be confined to the borders of their country, especially as the challenges faced by migrants also emanate from the recruitment process from the country of departure. Transnational cooperation between actors in the countries of departure, transit and settlement is therefore increasingly seen as an essential lever for devising sustainable solutions that guarantee rights.
In this perspective, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation has been working for about ten years with trade unions involved in these issues, grouped together in a collective called Réseau Syndical Migrations Méditerranéennes Subsahariennes - RSMMS.
Thirty member organisations from West Africa, North Africa and Europe have thus created a platform for consultation, coordination and sharing of experiences between trade unions from countries of origin and settlement and have increased the number of partnership agreements on migrant workers' issues. The collective is building on a first strategic cycle 2017-2021 which has resulted in a better understanding of the realities facing trade unionists and migrant populations in each region. It has pooled trade union know-how acquired through field experimentation with support actions and the production of documentation relaying good practices and collective data collection tools.
The experiments carried out have shown that the migration issue, because of the cross-cutting nature it imposes and the central place it occupies in relations between States, makes it possible to strengthen the trade union power of organisations acting as a trade union front and social partner.
These efforts are developed in consultation with regional and international trade union organisations.
International Labour Organization
Since 2022, FES has been developing a partnership with the ILO's FAIR programme to strengthen the potential for dialogue on migration issues at national (Tunisia) and transnational (Tunisia - Ivory Coast) levels. This partnership is part of the broader framework of the MoU signed in 2019 between the FES Africa Department and the ILO and reflects the common will to activate in a stronger way the mechanisms of multi-actor dialogue at national, regional and international levels.
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Promoting Migration Governance
4, rue Bachar Ibn Bord
B.P 63
2078 La Marsa
Tunisie
L’histoire de ces dernières années prouve cruellement que les Etats savent provoquer les migrations mais ne savent pas les accueillir.