The African Labour Researcher’s Network is a group of trade union-linked researchers from all over Africa. The network was formed in the beginning of 2001 as an African-owned research initiative, which seeks to increase the regional/global coherence and profile of African Labour and policy proposals. Initially the network covered Ghana Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia but has since grown and now includes Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Angola. The network is a voluntary, informal structure. Members are brought into the ALRN by invitation from existing members, and on the basis that members have an unambiguous left perspective, seeking alternatives to neo-liberal globalisation.