AI Index: MDE 14/009/2005 25 July 2005
Iraq - In cold blood: abuses by armed groups
BBC News: Tuesday, 26 July, 2005
Gunmen have killed at least 12 Iraqi workers travelling home by bus from a factory in the western outskirts of the capital, Baghdad. Bomb attacks and shootings are a part of daily life in Iraq.
The attackers followed two buses as they left the government-owned company in the Abu Ghraib area, a security official was quoted as saying.
Hospital officials said 32 people had been injured in the attack.
Insurgents have been targeting Iraqis believed to be working for the US-backed government.
The latest attack targeted the employees of a firm owned by the ministry of industry and minerals, security official Barakat al-Khazraji was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.
They were heading home to Baghdad's Shia neighbourhoods of Sadr City and Shula, said a police sergeant, Ahmed Ali said.
Police put the death toll at 12 but hospital sources said the final number could be as high as 17.
In the name of the IFTU and the Iraqi working class people, we strongly condemn the terrorist attacks on London on 7 July 2005 which murdered more than 50 innocent civilians and caused hundreds of injuries, some extremely serious.
These atrocities in London clearly showed that terrorism has no national boundaries and does not differentiate between different nationalities or communities.
The IFTU strongly condemns these atrocities which have shocked and horrified not only London but the world, declare solidarity with the people of the UK and the TUC at this difficult moment.
We send our deepest sympathies to the bereaved families and their friends.
IFTU
Baghdad.
14 July 2005
Iraqi Union News report.
Update from the Electricity and Energy Workers' Union of Iraq - IFTU
The workers' committee of the IFTU-affiliated Electricity and Energy Workers' Union at Baghdad's main Water Agency has initiated a campaign on behalf of workers at the Agency and other offices belonging or attached to it. This campaign includes:
1- providing for interest-free grants to be made available to workers.
2- Dealing with allegations of administrative and financial corruption.
3- Dealing with ensuring that the Agency pays the accumulated workers' holiday pay, which is owed and trying to assist in
4- Sending a memorandum to the relevant financial departments asking them to find an easier method to pay workers. Workers at the moment face both enormous security and administrative difficulties when they are required to collect their wages at banks.
5- Calling on the responsible government department to form an extraordinary committee to conduct an emergency investigation into attacks on workers who visit banks to receive their wages.
6- Providing workers with bicycles at reasonable rates to help with transportation.
7- The workers committee also won the re-instatement of 20 dismissed cleaning workers.
Iraqi Union News report.
IFTU Basrah - Public Service Workers' Union holds important seminar on jobs and services - new workers' committee elected in Basrah.
1- The Public Service Workers' Union in Basrah Held a one day seminar on 22 May 2005 at Basrah's main municipal Council premises.
The meeting was attend by hundreds of workers and was addressed by the President of the IFTU in Basrah, Mr Hussein Fadhal Hassan, the head of the Basrah municipal Council and the President of the Public Service Workers' Union in Basrah Mr Abid-Radha Shafaf.
The seminar focused on the role of the Council in improving the services
to the inhabitants of Basrah and on improvements to pay and working conditions for workers within both the public and private sectors.
The meeting specifically raised the demand that free public transport should be provided for workers by their departments.
2- The workers' committee at the Yoghurt and Refreshments Company in Basrah held an open election conference to elect a new workers' committee officials at the company.
The President of the Public Service Workers' Union in Basrah Mr Abid-Radha Shafaf was present and oversaw the election. The following trade unionists were elected to the committee at the company: Daud Salim (President), Ihsan Salman (Vice President), Ali Majed (Secretary), Adel Hamid (Treasurer), Ali Jabar (Media officer), Zaineb Ismail responsible for women’s issues within the company and Bushra Majed also on women’s issues.
Iraqi Union News report.
IFTU Basrah.
A delegation of American and British workers visited the IFTU in Basrah on 26 May 2005 and met with the Executive Committee of the IFTU and heads of several unions in Basrah.
After a few words of welcome from the IFTU President in Basrah, Mr Hussein Fadhal Hassan, Presidents of various unions in Basrah informed the foreign workers' delegation of the efforts and work of their unions in struggling to build democratic and open unions with clear a emphasis on improving wages and working conditions of their members.
The IFTU President pointed out that despite the difficult circumstances faced by Urswi workers and the shortages of resources, his federation did not receive any state support whether financial or otherwise.
Hashimain Muhsin the president of the Electricity Union in Basrah and the President of the Agricultural Workers' Union in Basrah were also present at the meeting.
The Oil and Gas Workers' Union in Basrah held a seminar on privatisation 25-26 May 2005, which was attended by David Bacon of US Labour Against War. The President of the IFTU in Basrah delivered a speech on the Oil sector and against privatisation.
11 July 2005
TUC welcome for London United vigil
Commenting on Ken Livingstone’s announcement of a vigil involving the Greater London Authority, the TUC and faith communities on Thursday evening in Trafalgar Square to mark the London bombings, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
'This will be the opportunity for London to come together to show sympathy for the victims, defiance to the terrorists, thanks to the emergency services and to unite as a city proud of its diversity.'
Text of Ken Livingstone’s statement:
'On Thursday 14 July London will remember all of those who died last Thursday and show its defiance of those who try to change the character of our city through terror.
'At noon millions of Londoners will observe two minutes silence. Every bus in the city will stop, businesses will stop and I want everyone who can to come out of their workplaces and homes onto the streets of London to remember those who died and to show their complete defiance of the terrorists.
'At 1pm books of condolences will be opened in Trafalgar Square for all Londoners and visitors to the city to sign throughout the day.
'At 6pm Londoners are invited to a vigil in Trafalgar Square to remember those who died, to show that London will not be moved from our city's goal of building an open, tolerant, multi-racial and multi-cultural society showing the world its future and to thank the heroes of the transport and emergency services who saved so many lives last Thursday.
'The vigil is organised with the Trades Union Congress and representatives of London' s different faiths and communities. There will be readings and poems by prominent Londoners, different communities and some of those from the transport and emergency services.'
UK Biggest turnout at the NUM Gala
Abdullah Muhsin
Trade union organizations are fundamental to the development of secure, prosperous and democratic societies. They are the bedrock of civil society. I strongly believe that a truly free and democratic society will not exist any where in the world without a democratic labour movement that can freely advocate and bargain for the interest of the working people. ‘The Union Makes Us Strong’ goes the old slogan. This is true but the ‘Us’ really refers not just to the union members but to the entire society. Democratic societies, not just workers, need free trade unions.
1. Democracies Need Unions
For parliamentary democracy to prosper independent, democratic and free civil society organizations must be encouraged to develop. I strongly believe trade unions are the driving force of democracy. For they are not the voice of an ideology or an ‘absolute truth’ but are the motivators for the promotion and improvement of the social, economic and political condition of working people. By that I mean improving social provision (housing, education and health), achieving fair wages and better working conditions and reducing unemployment.
Trade unions bring common folks together in organisations regardless of their race, nationality, religion or colour. The purpose of these organisations is the collective organised and peaceful pursuit of improvement in the social conditions and life chances of the members. As such trade unions are one of the key factors in ensuring social and political stability alongside the role of the state, the major economic actors, and the role of the international community.
In conflict-ridden societies trade unions are a vital means to bridge divides, unite the people, and ease the tensions. Unions are not organised on the basis of national, religious and ethnic and ideological identities but help construct a new identity: worker, citizen, Iraqi. It is in the DNA of trade unions to instil collective and non-sectarian identities and to pursuit collective advances not sectarian advantage.
In any society it is civil society organizations that are the link connecting the state with the people, not as a transmission belt carrying orders downwards but as one of those awkward positive forces, an independent centre of identity, opinion and resource, campaigning on behalf of their members, representing their interests, projecting their voice. It is the plurality and free competition of such centres of identity, opinion and resource that makes a democracy real. Without this interaction between state and a vibrant plural civil society we suffer the domination of the state. In such cases usually the state in question is a dictatorship and violence, leader-worship and demagogy is the groundtone of the culture.
In Iraq the unions can be one of the most important independent centres of identity, opinion and resource in the formation, development and consolidation of our democratic future. This is for two reasons: unions promote social partnership and prosperity; unions promote social unity and citizenship.
Social Partnership and Prosperity
Unions are the engine that propels the economy alongside capital. A prosperous economy is fundamental factor in the building and consolidation of democracy anywhere in the world. A healthy economy encourages social and political stability and help maintain strong sense of community.
Social Unity and Citizenship
Unions are the glue that binds together disparate identities and traditions on the basis of social justice, democracy and human rights. Recall how bitter divisions between Catholics and Protestants in many European societies – divisions that frequently led to riots- were overcome in the 19th and 20th centuries. The trade unions played a major role by bringing the sectarian combatants into the same rooms, members of the same organisations, to share the same dreams: a better life for their children, dignity at work, a fair share of prosperity. Unions were a great antidote against the sectarian poisons of extremism and I believe they can be in Iraq. Every time a dictator triumphed, whether Hitler or Saddam, the first thing they had to do was to abolish the free trade unions and create transmission belts controlled by the state.
I believe that the free trade unions in Iraq can play a similar historic role in the 21st century to the European unions of the 19 and 20 centuries. Other identities will remain, of course: Shia and Sunni and Turkoman and Assyrian Christian and Kurds. But like the streams meeting in the mighty rivers- Tigress and the Euphrates- they can join together to create something quite new: worker, citizen, Iraqi. And as Shia and Sunni and Turkoman and Assyrian Christian and Kurds unite in some spheres of their lives, then the meaning of their distinct historic identities can be transformed.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said this about democracy: “If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost’. This is true but so is the reverse: democracy is found in liberty and equality. The Professor of Political Thought at Cambridge, John Dunn, has just written a book called ‘Set the People Free’. Part of his argument is that when the ‘egalitarians’ lose out to the ‘egoists’ – in other words when collective social provision and the public service ethic is entirely squeezed out by the dictates of the market - then democracy itself withers on the vine.
If we put the insights of Aristotle and Dunn together do we not arrive at the conclusion that trade unions are a society’s egalitarian insurance policy against the self-defeating triumph of egoism? Unions are the organisational form of what some French thinkers call equaliberty: the idea that equality and liberty advance best when they advance together.
Unions help to keep equality and liberty from separating too much. Unions ensure social cooperation and prevent vast unaccountable centres of economic power from translating too easily into uncontested political power. When that happens the basic social compact between the people and the government is in danger.
2. Unions Need Democracies
The Enabling State
However, in order for civil society organizations to perform these functions and so contribute to building a parliamentary democracy, the state has a responsibility to create the right political climate in which independent civil society organisations, including trade unions, can function and organise. But this state support must preserve the independence of trade unions. By state here I mean the executive, parliament, public bureaucracy and security forces.
Unions in liberal democracies pride themselves for being democratic and independent of the influence of the state and the domination of political party control. They pride themselves for being a watchdog: growling, fiercely independent protectors of their members’ interests, against the power of government and capital as well as being engaged in social partnership.
Without independence from the state, unions’ lose their legitimacy as the voice of organized and unorganized working people.
The Democratic State
The commitment of the state to parliamentary democracy is another key factor. Without the will of the state and its agencies to accept the values and virtues of democracy in practice, it is difficult to see how civil society organizations and trade unions can function to fulfil their role.
Independent civil society organizations are the umbilical cord that connects a democratic state with individual citizens. For this to work, working people must be free to organize themselves in legal and recognized unions.
The state in liberal democracies has the responsibility to create a political space, a legal framework, and resources (for example facility time for union representatives) for workers to form their organisations. I believe it is a fundamental human right that working people can pool their resources in a special legal entity (the union) in a similar way to the pooling of capital resources in the form of what is called today the corporation.
3. Iraq and the European Model
If we look around the world we see that the relationship between trade unions and the state varies widely, and with it the degree of autonomy enjoyed by the unions. Unions in America, Canada and Europe, much of Latin America, and in some African and Asian countries are founded upon democratic principles. Union leaders are selected by democratic and open election procedures. In many of the former socialist bloc in Eastern Europe, and in many third World countries, unions are controlled and run by the state or dominated by political parties.
The European Model
The Iraqi unions will develop in accordance with our own national traditions. But we do tend to look to the European model as an inspirational model. This is because in many European countries we see two qualities in the typical state-union relationship that we feel are good for workers and good for democracies.
First, and in contrast to authoritarian societies, European unions are usually free.
• Unions are not transmission belts acting at the behest of the state but wholly independent bodies controlled by their members. Though they often have historic links to the social democratic parties of the left they are free to lend their political support to whichever party they believe will best represent their interests or to give their support to none. The unions’ special relationships with friendly parties do give them one way to influence government. Unions mobilise during general elections and seek to influence their outcome. They urge all parties to promote social justice, fair standard of welfare and the adoption of social market model of running the economy. And the unions that advocate such policies are usually free, democratic and independent and are not tied to a government or political parties.
• Unions have a protected legal status and so are free to organise workers within a clear legal framework including recourse to the law when employers ignore that framework.
Second, and in contrast to those societies dominated by a raw free market model, in Europe unions are often respected social partners.
This status is the result of a mix of pressure from below and sanction from above, a combination that is only possible in a social democracy.
• Pressure from below. In part, to state the obvious, unions wield influence because they are powerful independent political actors. They have freely recruited large memberships and reaped the benefits of collective organisation. Union influence on government policy, and in the workplace, is greater when large memberships and high union density combine with progressive industrial law. Yes, union density has been declining across the private sector since the late 1970s while holding up better in the public sector. But there is evidence that this decline is being arrested as unions adjust to new industries and labour markets.
• Sanction from above. In Europe the unions exist under an umbrella unfurled by the state. It may be a tattered umbrella in some countries now, but it exists.
Democracies need unions
We believe that the European model enables unions to play a positive role in the consolidation of liberal democracies. It gives concrete form to the talk of ‘pluralism’ and ‘civil society’. Unions play a central role in persuading the polity to end the social exclusion of working people by forcing onto the policy agenda issues such as health, pension and jobs, housing and education. I would like to quote a remarkable man called Karl Marx, we might say trade unions impose something of the ‘political economy of the working class’ on an economic system that sometimes only cares for the ‘bottom line’.
And I believe that when democracies look after unions, unions look after democracies. Gaining tangible benefits from democratic politics, trade unions have also been the great defenders of democratic politics, mobilising popular social classes at moment of social crisis against extremist threats. The most effective opponents of totalitarians of whatever stripe has always been the progressive democrats.
Iraqi working people are set free after three and half decades of Saddam’ years of darkness. Saddam’s model of state-union relations is found (in more benign forms) across the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East: the union as an extension of the state.
In Saddam’s Iraq those who refused to accept the authority of the undemocratic state had to organize in illegal and underground forms.
Let me give you one story. On 11 March 1987, Saddam’s regime introduced a new Labour Code, which redefined public sector workers as “employees” and removed their right to form or join trade unions. He abolished the eight-hour day and handed over workers pension fund to the treasury without compensation. The Labour Law No. 151 of 1970 was also abolished.
Saddam actually announced these measures during a televised meeting with the yellow union leaders of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). With the GFTU leadership and members of the "Central Workers Office" of the Ba’ath party smiling for the cameras Saddam said "From now on, the title 'worker' is abolished and all workers shall become official employees by the State. As everybody is now a government employee, there is no more need for trade unions. Workers in the private sector will have a special labour law decreed for them". The GFTU applauded all these measures! And, when Saddam launched his wars against Iran from 1980 to 1988 and his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 the GFTU, the yellow union, acted as Saddam’s recruiting sergeants
So today Iraq’s free trade unions, as with Iraq’s 30th January 2005 historic free elections, are blazing a trail for the entire region. This has its dangers. We have enemies within and enemies without.
Within Iraq the Saddam’s Ba’athist-Extremists Islamist fundamentalists so-called resistance hates the free trade unions. They have tortured and killed many of our members and leaders.
Outside Iraq there are many who are very fearful of Iraq’s free elections and free trade unions because of the dangerous example they offer peoples across the region. After all, think of it from the dictators’ point of view. What if workers in the region like the look of our free trade unions? What if they compare our IFTU to their Ba’athist- state run transmission belt model and decide they want a change?
Let me say a few words about the development of the IFTU in the last two years.
IFTU
The clandestine trade union movement, the Workers Democratic Trade Union Movement (WDTUM), organized an open meeting on 16 May 2003 attended by 350 Iraqi trade unionists (liberals, communists, and nationalists, both Arab and Kurds). It was at this meeting that the IFTU was formed. Some of these founding organisers had been in exile. Some had been imprisoned. Some had been working underground.
The IFTU has achieved some great things against the odds. 12 national unions in key sectors of the Iraq’s economy have been established. The IFTU now includes the following unions: The Oil and Gas Union, the Railway Union, The Transport and Communication Union, the Mechanics, Printing and Metal Union. The Textile and Leather products Union, the Construction and Wood Workers' Union, the Electricians' Union, the Service Industry Union and the Agriculture and Food Staff Workers' Union.
These unions organise in Baghdad and across Iraq’s 15 provinces such as Basra, Kirkuk, Mosul, Kurbala, al Najif, Babel and Mesan.
The IFTU has over 200,000 members.
The IFTU has good relations with international Labour movement like the ICFTU, with many European federations such as the CCOO, CGT and CGIL and the TUC and COSATO and AFL-CIO and with many other trade union centres around the world, such as the Korean labour movement.
The IFTU and the international trade union movement
The IFTU seeks affiliation to the ICFTU.
Internationalism is more important today than ever before in a globalised world in which the distinction between ‘domestic’ and ‘foreign’ policy is collapsing.
The first international trade union centre was called the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), was formed in 1901. This I-F-T-U was established to bring trade unionists from different part of the globe to campaign with one voice for jobs and economic justice and for the promotion of universal human rights such as the right to organise and vote. (Here is an irony, the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, the newly formed free and democratic trade unions in the wake of Saddam’s dictatorial order, carries the same acronym: IFTU. We are proud of this).
The ICFTU is a democratic organization and is mainly controlled by its members and not governments or political parties. Today the ICFTU is the largest international union federation and the IFTU aspires to affiliation to the ICFTU.
There is also a World Confederation of Labour (WCL) a relatively small organization based on Christians social principles and values. The WCL is merging with the ICFTU to crate a new global trade unions center.
The European Trade Unions Congress (ETUC) was established on 1973, founded on the basis of independence, transparency and democracy. It is now one of the key trade union centres alongside the ICFTU.
Forgive me for the blizzard of initials. The point is this: the IFTU wishes to take its place alongside the democratic free trade unions inside the ICFTU.
Where now for the Iraqi Unions?
To finish, let me say that I think the union-state relationship must develop at two levels: national and international.
The National Level
Post-Saddam Iraq accepts trade unions as part of a democratic society. We urge and we expect that the new constitution will embrace a liberal-democratic model of state-union relations. We are arguing for the right of workers to join trade unions, and for unions to organise under legal protection, independent of the state. We want the new Iraq to embrace ILO standards, including an ILO-approved Labour Code. If the new constitution fails to embed the rights of Iraqi workers a tremendous opportunity to undercut the appeal of the terrorists will have been missed. For with those rights we will build a mighty union able to offer a real alternative to the nihilists.
International
Finally, let us not forget the elephant in the room, so to speak. When we talk about ‘democracy’ in Iraq, when we talk of ‘state-union relations’ in Iraq we must remember that my country is occupied by foreign troops. Iraqi democracy can only walk tall, and the unions can only take their place as social partners of a sovereign Iraqi government, when the UN-backed political process is successful and the phased withdrawal of foreign troops is complete. Security Council resolution 1546 sets out a process and a timetable for the total withdrawal of foreign troops. Upon the success of this process - no less than upon our efforts as trade unionists - hangs the future of free trade unionism in Iraq.
That’s why the international labour movement must embrace the UN political process under 1546 SC Resolution. Iraq is the hinge of our time and I’m afraid we Iraqi democrats do sometimes feel that this is understood rather better by the enemies of democracy than by its friends.
We Iraqi democrats wish that the international community would put aside old disputes and rush to Iraq with the urgency and determination and zeal of the poor deluded Islamist fundamentalists who cross the border seeking martyrdom and bringing only death and misery.
Drafting a constitution, holding fresh elections, training new security forces: all these tasks are immense and require the wholehearted support of the international community. We can’t bear these burdens alone.
If democracy fails in Iraq the world will be picking up the pieces for the rest of our lifetimes. If democracy succeeds in Iraq then we may be on the verge of a world historic process of democratisation throughout the region. That is what is at stake in Iraq. It is the hinge of our time.
21st Session of the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights.
see full report here:
On Saturday 11 June 2005, ICTUR hosted its annual Administrative Council discussions in Geneva, Switzerland. The high profile annual event brings together trade unions, lawyers, academics and human rights organisations to make recommendations on strategies and action for ICTUR's work on trade union rights in the the year ahead.
The meeting was chaired by Professor Keith Ewing, Vice President of ICTUR.
Labour rights in the oil sector in Colombia
In the first of two key discussions, Jorge Gamboa of the Colombian oil workers' union USO, opened by drawing parallels between the role of oil in the economies of Iraq and Colombia and the situation facing workers and their trade unions. "The struggle must be worldwide" he insisted, adding that, "Colombian unions must defend trade union rights in Iraq".
The USO leader went on to describe how local and indigenous people have been moved away from oil areas in Colombia, and how the military are preventing them from returning. This militarisation of the oil areas, Gamboa explained, also prevents union organisers from getting near to the workers.
Lawyer and ICTUR project coordinator Miguel Puerto described plans for a second mission (see details of the first mission here) by legal experts from the International Commission for Labour Rights that would examine labour rights violations in the Colombian oil sector. The situation was extremely serious, he said, describing the oil region of Arauca as "a laboratory for war". As part of its response, ICTUR was conducting the planning and organisational work for the ICLR mission and would be producing and promoting the report on ICLR's behalf.
Responding to the presentations, Christine Parker of LO-Norway described the work of ICTUR as "essential", adding that the Workers Group of ILO was now operating "as a whole" and recommending to campaigners that they should make every effort to ensure that their publications reach employers and governments. Jim Catterson of the international oil workers' union ICEM wished the ICLR mission every success. Nora Wintour of international public sector workers' union PSI recommended that those working around the situation in Colombia should have regard to ILO Convention 169 on indigenous and tribal populations. She added that campaigners "should do more to highlight violations of that convention".
Trade union rights in Iraq
In a second discussion, the international representatives of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq gave presentations on the evolving and difficult situation for trade unions in their country.
Abdullah Muhsin of the IFTU explained that his union had suffered severe attacks against its leaders and organisers: three founding members of the federation have been shot dead and international secretary Hadi Saleh was tortured and killed. The IFTU representative set out his federation's opposition to privatisation of public services, calling for the economy not to be opened up to the market just as it emerged from the war, but added that the IFTU "is not opposed to the market or to investment". Muhsin described Iraq as a country under occupation, but deplored resistance in the form of suicide bomb attacks that killed large groups of ordinary Iraqi workers.
ICTUR Vice President Fathi El-Fadl outlined ICTUR's project to create an independent legal resource centre in Iraq. The unions would "supply the needs" and ICTUR would "supply the expertise" and would work with all trade unions to provide technical capacity to defend and promote trade union rights. (Read about the Trade Union Rights Centre).
Both the FWCUI and the IFTU welcomed and approved the ICTUR proposal and agreed to work with the project in Iraq. Abdullah Muhsin described the labour code as "key", noting that Iraqi workers had been deprived of their basic rights for decades. Aso Jabbar called for work to secure trade union rights in the public sector, and added that all unions should have freedom to organise. Discussing the security concerns for all organisers in the current situation, the Council welcomed the intervention of Freddy Pulacio of USO, who said "my experience is at your disposal".
ICTUR's activities
The Council approved the report of Daniel Blackburn, Director of ICTUR (copies on request), and the proposals for future activities, including the publication of a series of world maps on core labour standards in English, French and Spanish editions. Donor unions, the international PSI and the French CGT, were thanked for their contributions to that project. Dan Gallin, representing the International Federation of Workers Education Associations, expressed his support for the maps, and hoped that IFWEA and ICTUR would have opportunities to work on more joint projects in future.
Alison Tate of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (deputising for ICTUR President Sharan Burrow), noted that ICTUR's British Committee had produced a booklet about trade union experiences organising migrant workers. The same issues, she said, were a major challenge worldwide, and added that organisations should be sharing these experiences.
The Council expressed strong support for the journal International Union Rights. It was noted that IUR remains ICTUR's key source of income and that more substantial contributions are required from trade unions if ICTUR is to meet its full potential. The Council expressed regret at the financial limitations of ICTUR, and agreed that the level of work produced was remarkable in the circumstances.
In closing, Jamshid Ettehadieh, ICTUR correspondent on Iran, called for the Council to adopt a statement welcoming the establishment of the Tehran Public Bus Transportation Company syndicate in Iran as the first large and over ground trade union launched since the 1980s. The Council adopted the statement unanimously.
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Iraq: Trade Union Rights Centre ictur,11 june 2005:
In accordance with the UN charter which stipulates in its articles the importance of adherence to national independence and sovereignty of national states as well as solutions of problems between national states by peaceful means and respect to the principal of the sovereignty and equality of the UN members;
In recognition of the importance of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language and religion;
In accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations which states that 'everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests';
And recognising the Conventions of the International Labour Organisation to be an authoritative source of international consensus and as an essential part of the body of international law;
ICTUR launches its project to establish a Trade Union Centre in Iraq.
Project summary
ICTUR has developed a proposal for a 'Trade Union Rights Centre', an independent NGO office to be based in Iraq that will develop a small staff consisting of qualified lawyers and researchers with experience of labour issues. The TURC will become a centre for open discussion between trade unionists and the legal, academic and NGO communities, as well as a centre for the study and promotion of basic principles of trade union and labour rights. The TURC will provide expert legal, analytical and technical assistance to Iraqi unions in relation to the new labour code. TURC will also provide assistance to trade unions in legal disputes.
For more information about the TURC, see the report of the Administrative Council 2005 or read about the experiences of the TURC Indonesia.
Rationale
Although there are several trade union organisations now operating in Iraq, these unions have no formal research capacity, and there are no organisations dedicated to assisting unions in legal and organisational matters.
Priorities
The Trade Union Rights Centre will embark on the following immediate priorities:
· legal analysis and critique of the new labour law
· providing an advocacy and activist advice service for unions dealing with union rights issues
· providing education and training on labour right
· the collection of data on union rights issues
· campaigning on union rights issues
· documentation of cases of violations of freedom of association
· provision of information on union rights and international labour standards
· provision of assistance and expertise with trade union organising and recruitment
- provision of expertise to the trade unions during their first years of engagement with international agencies
· provision of an independent portal for Iraqi unions, academics and lawyers to access fellow professionals in and advice from the international community.
The Centre will offer its services to all genuine unions who seek its assistance. There is a need to provide immediate support and advice to unions engaged in union rights struggles. There is also a need to provide the union movement with analysis and research on legal and organisational issues at a time of political, social and economic change. TURC will be capable of meeting these needs and making a real contribution to the development of strong and effective unions able to fight for union rights.
ICTUR is open to working with all genuine trade unions organising in Iraq, regardless of affiliation. ICTUR will engage in high-level discussions in an effort to ensure that the TURC project is supported by and is accessible to as many trade unions as is possible.
Key to the success of the TURC project is its separation from the trade union organisations who will benefit from its services. TURC's non-aligned status will be promoted around the concept of the independence of the judiciary and TURC staff will be qualified lawyers.
Linkages
The TURC will build close working relationships with trade unions, lawyers' organisations, with relevant NGOs at the national and regional level. TURC will also seek outreach to the academic community, seeking to establish permanent links where possible with universities and research institutes working on labour and / or human rights issues. TURC will also work with international organisations directly and with the assistance of ICTUR.
Consultation
ICTUR has begun to discuss the project with several Iraqi trade unions. ICTUR will engage in high-level discussions with organisations in Iraq and the wider region in an effort to ensure that the TURC project is supported by and is accessible to the widest number of trade unions possible. These organisations will be invited to advise upon TURC's planning and activities throughout the lifetime of the project.
Project management
An advisory board is being assembled, consisting of invited representatives of Iraqi, regional and international trade union, legal and academic experts.
A project officer has been appointed by ICTUR to oversee administration of the project from ICTUR's office in London.
The in-country TURC Director will be a qualified lawyer with strong administrative and management skills.
Conclusions
The project will provide Iraqi workers, through their trade unions and via workplace education, with an open forum in which to develop and enhance their own understanding of the role of trade unions and of their value as engines for change, for socially responsible development and progress within society. TURC will further provide specialised advice and assistance to enhance the capacity of all trade unions in Iraq to act as the democratic and representative voices of Iraqi workers at local, national and international levels.
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Brussels, 8 July 2005 (ICFTU OnLine): The ICFTU and the European TUC today condemned the terrorist atrocities in London, which have cost the lives of at least 37 people and injured several hundred more. ICFTU and ETUC General Secretaries Guy Ryder and John Monks expressed their deepest sympathies to those affected in messages to their British affiliate the TUC, as have trade union organisations from around the world. “Those responsible for these terrible attacks, aimed at ordinary people, must be brought to justice”, said Monks and Ryder.
Italian and Spanish trade unions are organising symbolic work stoppages at 12.00 today to express their sympathy. The ICFTU and the ETUC will also hold a ceremony outside the International Trade Union House in Brussels at 12.00 today to show their solidarity with all those affected.
The ICFTU represents 145 million workers in 234 affiliated organisations in 154 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org
For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32 2 224 0232 or +32 476 621 018.
(11/7/05) UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis today praised the role of public service workers who had to deal with the aftermath of the London tube and bus bombings.
“The tragic and appalling events of 7 July 2005 will remain with us all for a very long time," he said. "Our thoughts go out to all those who have lost loved ones and to those who were injured in these horrific attacks.
“I know there have been many individual acts of heroism and I know how readily the public went to the aid of those injured. But I do want to pay a special tribute to all those public service workers, many of whom are UNISON members, who responded with quiet efficiency, dedication and determination.
“They have shown over the past few days just how much the public service ethos matters in our society. They have worked round the clock to rescue, treat or care for the victims, regardless of their own safety and comfort. Many of them have witnessed scenes too terrible to contemplate.
“Their task continues. They deserve and should get our support and respect not just for the work they are now doing but for the work they do day in day out dealing with the public’s individual tragedies.
“Thank you to all public service workers from UNISON and all the communities you serve.”
The Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) London office strongly condemns the terrorist attacks in London that took place yesterday (7 July, 2005) against innocent defenceless working people going about their daily routine.
We mourn the loss of life and pray for a speedy recovery of the injured.
These are unprovoked attacks, which lack any justification whatsoever.
We Iraqis know very well the sorrow Londoners are going through at the moment and feel their pain as Iraq today battles against extremism for democracy and human rights in a federal and united Iraq.
The perpetrators of these vile acts of barbarism must be brought to justice and receive the deserved punishment.
We salute the brave, calm and tireless humanitarian response of workers in the transport, emergency services and media who have demonstrated the instinctive and universal duty of love and care to their fellow Londoners, that is an example to trade unionists everywhere.
Finally our sympathy with families and friends who lost loved ones.
Brussels, 1 July 2005 (ICFTU OnLine): Trade unions from around the world have been in the forefront of today’s “White Band Day” global mobilization against poverty, the largest movement of its kind in history. Rallies, demonstrations and meetings around the world, involving hundreds of thousands of people, have been organized under the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), a coalition of trade unions, community and religious groups, women’s organizations and other development and anti-poverty movements. The GCAP, symbolized by the wearing of white armbands and headbands, is calling for decisive global action for debt relief to the poorest countries, greatly increased development aid, and justice in the world trade system.
World trade union leaders met with UK Prime Minister and G8 host Tony Blair this Tuesday in London to press home the case for decisive action by the richest countries.
“The ICFTU and its Global Unions partners, are campaigning to put poverty at the top of the international agenda, with key meetings of the G8 countries this month, the United Nations General Assembly in September, and the World Trade Organisation’s Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December. Creating decent jobs for all is central to ending world poverty, and trade unions have a central role to play in this”, said ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder.
A rally of more than 50,000 people organised by trade unions and pressure groups in Madrid, Spain on Monday launched a week of activities culminating in actions in more than 70 countries today, including demonstrations and symbolic wrapping of major buildings and famous landmarks in cities around the globe. Staff from the ICFTU, Education International and other trade union bodies in the International Trade Union House in Brussels converged in front of the building this afternoon to add their voice to those of trade unionists in Nepal, Mozambique, India, the UK, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and a wide range of other countries which have been taking part in GCAP events.
Further “White Band Days” will take place on 10 September, when the UN General Assembly reviews progress towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, and on 10 December as the World Trade Organisation gathers in Hong Kong for its Ministerial Meeting.
“Much has been said by world leaders about the evils of poverty, and many pledges have been made to help people build decent lives for themselves and their families. But the fact is that hundreds of millions of women, men and children are still living in destitution, with little hope of a better life. The trade union movement around the world will continue to work with others to make sure that real action is taken to end global poverty”, said Ryder.
The ICFTU represents 145 million workers in 233 affiliated organizations in 154 countries and territories.
The ICFTU is also a partner in Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32 2 224 0212.
INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS
ICFTU OnLine:
089/010705
Hundreds of Thousands of Australian Workers Rally Against Anti-Union Laws
Brussels, 1 July 2005 (ICFTU OnLine): More than 250,000 people have taken part in public protests over the past two days against the conservative Australian Federal Government's plans to remove protection from unfair dismissal for most workers, impose heavy restrictions on union organising and collective bargaining rights, push workers onto individual employment contracts and weaken mechanisms for setting minimum wages.
Around 100,000 people took part in rallies throughout the state of New South Wales today, following yesterday's 100,000-person demonstration in Melbourne and protests in cities and towns around the country involving tens of thousands more.
"This is about whether or not working people will be treated like commodities and that is the international principle - no worker should be treated like a commodity." said Sharan Burrow in Perth where some 20,000 took part in a rally. Burrow is President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and of the ICFTU.
The ICFTU Executive Board at its meeting last week pledged to generate international support for the Australian trade union campaign, recognising that if the laws proposed by Prime Minister John Howard are implemented, then Australia would find itself at the bottom of the OECD ladder in terms of rights and protections for working people. A case will also be brought to the UN's International Labour Organisation, which has already criticized existing anti-union measures introduced by the Howard government.
The ACTU is also running an extensive advertising campaign to bring home the full impacts of the government's plans, and community and church groups from around the country have expressed serious concern over the prospect of lower wages and even less protection, especially for the most vulnerable and lowest-paid workers.
"Respect for fundamental workers' rights, and the social and economic benefits which stem from this, are the cornerstones on which every country should build its economy. Joining a race to the bottom can only harm Australia's position in the global economy, and will seriously damage its international reputation", said ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder.
The ICFTU represents 145 million workers in 233 affiliated organizations in 154 countries and territories.