Representatives of the Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions (IFTU)
held a highly successful briefing in the House of Commons on Wednesday
21st January to update parliamentarians on the current situation in
Iraq.
The meeting was addressed by Hadi Salih, the International Secretary of
the IFTU, during a two-day visit to the UK, which also included a
successful meeting with the TUC International Officer, Owen Tudor.
The meeting was chaired by Harry Barnes MP and attended by Lord Bill
Jordan (a former leader of the British AEEU engineering union), Alice
Mahon MP, Ernie Ross MP and Mark Todd MP, who is a parliamentary aide to
Baroness Symons, the Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for the
Middle East.
In addition, representatives of Ann Clwyd and the Association of
University Teachers were present for the detailed briefing.
Abdullah Muhsin, the IFTU representative in Britain was also present.
Apologies were given by several Labour and Conservative MPs on what was
a busy day in Parliament.
The meeting heard an outline of the history of Iraqi trades unionism,
how it was repressed under Saddam Hussein, its efforts to rebuild itself
as part of a new civil society in Iraq and the role of the yellow unions
set up by Saddam Hussein as well as discussion on the recent US raid on
its temporary headquarters in Baghdad.
All agreed that it was a highly informative meeting and expressed their
enthusiasm to help the Iraqi trade union movement to play a positive
role in the new society in that country