Left without a leader following the death of Koffi Zounnadjala on 28 October 2025, the National Union of Commerce Workers of Togo (SYNTRACOM-Togo) has a new General Secretary. His name is Mèhèza Bemeli. He was elected on Saturday 11 July during an extraordinary elective congress held at the headquarters of the Togolese Trade Union Confederation (CSTT). He will lead the organisation for a four-year term, renewable once, at the head of a new nine-member Executive Committee, supported by three auditors who were also elected at the congress.
Mr Bemeli views the trust placed in him as “a solemn commitment to serve with integrity, transparency, humility and dedication”, paying tribute to the legacy of his predecessor, the late Koffi Zounnadjala, whom he intends to make “a constant source of inspiration” and to “continue the work he began”. As for the areas of focus, he has set out his priorities: to improve both the administrative and financial management of SYNTRACOM, to promote internal democracy and transparency, and to ensure basic training for members.
The new General Secretary intends to promote social dialogue and work towards resolving the problems inherent in the sector. And he has his work cut out for him, given the sheer number of issues: failure to apply the guaranteed cross-sectoral minimum wage (SMIG) set at 66,886 CFA francs for the sector; persistent breaches of labour laws by Lebanese employers, who very often behave as if they were in conquered territory; the exploitation of employees as if they were slaves (sic); constant tensions with Togolese employees, frequent exceeding of the recommended working hours, etc.
During the proceedings, in addition to electing the members of the new Executive Committee, SYNTRACOM-Togo members also reviewed the constitution and rules of procedure. In the absence of a comprehensive and final adoption, the congress at least approved the broad outlines and decided to entrust the remainder of the task to the new team, which is to convene, within a reasonable timeframe, a trade union council to continue deliberations and adopt these texts definitively.
Furthermore, the congress adopted a resolution calling on the elected Executive Committee to strengthen governance, take the necessary steps with employers’ organisations to open collective bargaining with a view to revising the 2017 Collective Agreement for the retail sector, and strengthen mechanisms for legal assistance, trade union defence and support for members who are victims of violations of their employment rights, amongst other things.
Bringing the proceedings to a close, the General Secretary of the CSTT, Emmanuel Agbenou, offered useful advice to the leaders and members of SYNTRACOM-Togo. “The trade union is not there to put a spanner in the works for employers or to keep them awake at night. It is a social partner. And to secure its rights and interests, there are ways to approach employers and talk to them,” he emphasised, speaking on the subject of social dialogue.
SYNTRACOM, it should be noted, is the trade union organisation representing workers in commercial enterprises of all kinds (stationery shops, supermarkets, general food retailers, building materials suppliers, etc.). Its current members come from Le Champion Supermarket, Sotimex, CCT Bâtimat, Techno A Class, SOPAL, and others.
Source: https://www.letabloid.tg/2026/07/11/un-nouveau-secretaire-general-pour-le-syntracom/ (original French)
