IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, FENOTHAC and FESYNEME, who met in Cotonou as part of a programme by IndustriALL to build union strength in the country, agreed that the right to strike must be defended in all sectors, and that the unions should campaign against the government’s intention to ban the right to strike in oil and gas and electricity, which it says are essential services.

Further, workers' participation in union activities should be increased, national council formed, joint activities carried out, and communications improved.

The garment and textile sector has been in decline with most former factory workers now employed in the informal sector, where more than 90 per cent of the workers in Benin make out a living. So, most of the FENOTHAC members are in the small-scale traditional tailoring sector. On the other hand, mining is picking up and exports for gems and precious stones have begun.