Introduction

This study examines the trade union scene in Algeria, focusing on the health and education unions as a model for trade unionism. We aim to answer a series of questions mainly related to the roles these unions play within the trade union and broader social project. This is done in light of the political changes and their economic and social impacts. The paper looks at some of the historical junctures that contributed to the presence of unions and the strengthening of their activities and struggles; it is particularly interested in what unions have achieved since the 1990 Law and the break between the one-party and multiparty phases. Independent unions have played an important role in the struggle, demonstrated by their activities in the field, making them a force to be reckoned with.¹They are called “independent unions” in reference to their independence from the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), which has played a central role since its establishment on 24 February 1956 and was the labor arm in the public sector for the various policies that followed Algerian independence until the multiparty and trade union pluralism resulting from the 1989 Constitution. The UGTA is considered a labor partner of the government.

The protest movements and strikes witnessed by several sectors from the 1990s to 2018 testify to the painstaking efforts made by independent unions and the suffering they face under the restrictions imposed by the authorities, whether through surveillance or laws restricting their movement and freedom. However, this has not deterred them from achieving some demands and gains.

Since the beginning of trade union pluralism, the health and education sectors have witnessed the formation of the largest number of job and service organizations, which have been continuously branching out. In the education sector, the number reached 23 unions, while the health sector included 13 unions – according to Ministry of Labor data – with a wide variety of employee categories within these two sectors. This expansion helped them emerge as the most dynamic unions in terms of protests and advocacy. This study examines the presence of these unions in light of social changes and the general political context in Algeria, asking: What is their role in the trade union project in Algeria? Will the presence of the health and education unions in the future be nominal compared to the pre-Hirak 2019 period? How will the independent unions interact with the 2023 Law on the exercise of trade union rights, the prevention and settlement of collective labor disputes, and the exercise of the right to strike?

To answer these questions, the study is organized around the following elements:

• Pluralism, or the emergence of independent unions, and legal challenges;
• The overlap between politics and trade unionism in health and education unions amid the Arab Spring and popular mobilization;
• The health and education unions as pioneers of the trade union project in Algeria; and
• The challenges and divisions facing trade unions, and the future of trade unionism.