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A British union organiser from UNI's affiliate Unite was described as "a brilliant ambassador" after using his annual leave to train and support union officers in Ghana.

UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings praised the work of Kwasi Agyemang-Prempeh who took a week’s holiday from his job as Unite branch secretary for cleaners in London and flew to Accra to join an international team training and supporting Ghanaian organisers. In an unbelievable round of organising, the group recruited 1,000 new members to a local union.

“I heard UNI had planned a training visit to Ghana, which is where I come from. So I asked if I could go along,” said Kwasi Agyemang-Prempeh.

“They said I boosted their morale and it must have helped because in a week we recruited 1,000 new members to the local Union of Private Security Personnel,” he said.

The Ghanaian union now has 5,000 members in Accra. “I’m ready to go back – there are other cities in Ghana where we need to organise. In London, I champion the London Living Wage for our cleaners. I want to empower anyone who is at the bottom of the ladder.” 

UNI hopes to continue using Kwasi as a mentor in Ghana and in other campaigns in Africa. The admiration is mutual.

“Last June for UNI’s Justice for Cleaners Day, we gave passengers leaving Heathrow a flower to give to a cleaner at their destination airport. It was a humorous, human way of getting our message across,” said Kwasi Agyemang-Prempeh.   

UNI Global Union works internationally for 20 million workers in 900 unions worldwide, including Unite.