The initial roots of what would become the Pan-African Workers Association first began to grow in 2022 when migrant care-workers from Zimbabwe, who had relocated to the UK, started to form links with each other and set up a WhatsApp chat. Very soon it became clear that many workers in the African diaspora across the UK were facing similar problems, as the group chat quickly grew to over 1,000 participants.
The group realised that African migrants in the UK were being severely exploited by private care companies, such as illegal charging migrants for job opportunities in the UK, breaches of contractual and statutory employment rights, and wage theft. It has only been through tireless activism and bravery of workers in the sector speaking out that these injustices are starting to come to light, such as in this recent survey by Unison: Migrant care staff having to share beds, sleep rough and charged thousands in illegal fees | News, Press release | News | UNISON National
African workers were not willing to tolerate exploitation any longer and so community leaders started reaching out to unions for support via the platform Organise Now.
Through Organise Now, this community met the IWW and shortly after PAWA was formed.
Since it’s founding, PAWA and the IWW have worked closely together, the union supporting the group with funds, training, running social events and supporting workers in need of advice and representation.
Together IWW and PAWA have since won many cases for workers through both legal challenges and direct action. You can read about some of these successes here: https://pawa.uk/blog/
We’ve trained many new organisers and reps from PAWA and the organisation has grown both it’s membership numbers and democratic structures.
While many challenges lay ahead it is clear the the paths of PAWA and the IWW are intertwined. This was just made official as on the 16th Feb 2025 the IWW Delegate Council voted unanimously to accept a petition from PAWA to formally charter as a body within the One Big Union.
The passing of this petition marks a monumental step for both organisations and the struggle for migrant rights in the UK as a whole, as PAWA is now a legally certified union, a part of the IWW, and an example for hopefully many more associations and groups of workers to follow.
An injury to one is an injury to all!