IFTU foreign representative Abdullah Muhsin recently addressed the 27th National Congress of the Norwegian Oil Workers' Union, NOPEF held in Haugesund, Norway from 27th – 31st October 2004.
IFTU representative Abdullah Muhsin with Leif Sande, NOPEF National President
On 28 October, NOPEF organized a press conference for the IFTU. The IFTU gave a presentation of about 15 minutes on the development of independent, trade union organisation in the Iraqi Oil sector, the growth of democratically elected workplace committees and the IFTU's opposition to privatisation in the Iraqi energy sector.
IFTU was joined on the platform by Fred Higgs, General Secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), who made clear ICEM's support for the IFTU's efforts to rebuild independent trade union organisation in the Iraqi energy sector. The IFTU was also supported on the platform by Mr Lev Mironov, leader of the Russian Oil, Gas and Construction Workers' Union, James Pannell vice president of PACE, Leif Sande, NOPEF National President and Lars Myhre, NOPEF International Secretary.
Norwegian National Radio, local and national press organisations and LO Magazine, the publication of Norway's central trade union confederation covered the press conference.
Altogether 80 guests from Norway and abroad attended NOPEF’s Congress, including 29 international guests representing trade unions in Scandinavia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, USA and the Caribbean, along with 183 delegates from 51 workplace branches, representing a diversity of NOPEF’s members in different companies. Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary, also addressed the Congress.
NOPEF’s National Congress adopted a motion on international matters proposed by the national executive committee. NOPEF believes that the development of union rights are linked to the development of democratic forms of government and peace. In many of the countries where NOPEF’s trade union comrades live, there is no peace. This applies, for example, to Iraq. NOPEF supports the international trade union movement’s demand that the USA must withdraw from Iraq, and that the UN must play the main role in helping to rebuild the new Iraq