Trade unions in Guinea were historically important - having played a pivotal role in the country's independence movement - and in recent years have again assumed a leading role.
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Colonial period
In 1945, Sekou Toure (later Guinea's first president) founded the first union in Guinea, organizing postal (PTT) workers, and then in 1946, the Territorial Union of Guinean Trade Unions (Union Territoriale des Syndicats de Guinée, UTSG).
Sekou Touré and Seydou Diallo (also of Guinea) were among the leaders in the creation of the French West African Confédération générale des travailleurs africains ('General Confederation of African Workers', CGTA) separate from the French union, Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) in 1955-6.
Following independence
Trade unions were outlawed in 1961, following a teachers' strike, and legalized again in the 1990s.
In 2006, the unions (together) successfully organized strikes in Conakry, and in early 2007 led nationwide strikes that provoked a harsh government crackdown which resulted in over 100 fatalities.
In October 2009, following shooting and other violence against a political rally in Conakry, the unions organized a successful two-day strike.