From May 20 to 22 2025, the Syndicat Unique des Travailleurs de la Santé et de l’Action Sociale (SUSAS) held a three-day strategic session in Niamey. With support from Public Services International (PSI) and the Union to Union (U2U) programme, more than 20 union members from across Niger participated in the one-day planning session and two days of intensive training on union organising.

The objective was to strengthen the union’s grassroots structures and inspire unions to recruit new members—particularly in rural areas—and strengthen SUSAS’s voice in the national health and social services sector.

Planning Union Activities Based on Strategy

The planning session opened with a frank assessment of the realities facing union members in Niger. Low unionisation among young workers, the underrepresentation of women in leadership, and the isolation of health workers in rural areas were the key concerns.

Through advocacy and stakeholder mapping exercises, participants explored strategies to effectively engage potential members, and build broader alliances. The union developed five actions for 2025:

• Conduct step down training on ILO Convention 190 for NGOs, civil society organisations, youth and women’s groups, and allied unions.

• Launch a national advocacy network to support the ratification of Convention 190.

• Engage strategic stakeholders to strengthen the recognition of the union's role within Nigerien society.

• Train members on how to use a union database for improved mobilisation, monitoring, and information sharing;

• Carry out a participatory evaluation of results by the end of the year to reflect, revise, and adapt the union’s advocacy strategies.

Inclusive Union Organising

On May 21 and 22, SUSAS affiliates took part in a participatory training programme led by PSI. The training focused on concrete tools for organising, campaigning, and membership growth. Participants explored practical strategies for building union power, with a particular focus on reaching health workers in remote and hard-to-reach parts of Niger.

Real-life scenarios, drawn directly from Niger’s health and social service sectors, issues affecting veiled women workers and young people were central to the role-plays and strategy-building exercises. Some outcomes from the training are:

• Union members worked in groups and built a union advocacy plan based on the specific challenges facing their members. 

• Participants also committed to step-down the Convention 190 training in their respective unions.

SUSAS has built an approach to building power grounded in participation. By prioritising inclusion—especially for underrepresented and marginalised groups like veiled women and youth, the union is laying the groundwork for sustainable organising in Niger.

The training and planning session helped members reconnect with SUSAS’s mission and gave them the tools to act. With a new strategy in place and trained organisers are  ready to step up, the union is now better positioned to lead effective campaigns that reflect the realities of its membership—especially in hard-to-reach areas, where the need is greatest.