According to this report, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) "opposes Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani's refusal to meet with Iraq's oil workers and instructions to the ministry's departments and companies to cut off all ties. The ICEM says the move is because the unions are vocal opponents to a draft oil law, which they say will open the doors of Iraq's vast oil reserves to foreign and private companies. Saddam Hussein barred oil workers from unionizing and subsequent governments have also weighed in that direction." The ICEM website is located at http://www.icem.org.
May 4th 2006 | IRBIL
From The Economist
Attacked by insurgents, hobbled by factions, Iraq's unions fight for air
AN ELECTRICIAN in Basra plunges to his death while repairing a pylon, felled by a sniper's bullet. A group of construction workers are stopped at a bogus checkpoint near Baquba, north-east of Baghdad, and then taken off their bus and shot. A secondary-school teacher in Mosul is gunned down as she leaves for work in defiance of insurgents' demands that she stay at home. These apparently unrelated attacks, in different parts of Iraq, occurred on the same morning last month. They would have gone largely unnoticed but for the fact that the ten people killed that day were all members of the country's increasingly vocal trade-union movement.
According to the Iraqi Workers' Federation (IWF), more than 2,000 of its members have been killed as a direct result of the economic scorched-earth policy waged by the insurgency. Assaults on oil pipelines and electricity substations have left a trail of human casualties. Teachers, health-care workers and civil servants are also considered “legitimate” targets.
It is not just the rank-and-file who are at risk: union leaders have been picked out for assassination. In the most notorious case, in January 2005, Hadi Saleh, the founding father of the post-Saddam union movement and president of the Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions, was tortured and then shot by gunmen, thought to be survivors of the former regime.
Iraqi unions had been battered for some 30 years by the Baathists, who had eradicated any organisation that resisted party rule. After Saddam Hussein's removal in April 2003, a new, independent movement came swiftly to life. The IWF, the teachers' union and other associations now lay claim to up to 1m members. They have notched up a series of successes, challenging the hiring and wage policies of foreign-owned contractors in the oil industry (the privatisation of which they strongly oppose), as well as winning extra security protection for reconstruction workers in Baghdad and central Iraq.
But at a recent meeting in Irbil with British trade unionists, Iraq's union leaders made urgent pleas for solidarity and help from their comrades in the international labour movement. “We will always fight to protect our members' rights,” said Hadi Ali, the IWF's vice-president. “It doesn't mean we are against change...We are also all fighting to transform Iraq into a sustainable democracy, and unions may well be the most powerful weapon in that battle.”
It is not just the chronic insecurity that is making life tough for Iraqi workers and their representatives. Unionists accuse the new Iraqi authorities of exploiting Saddam-era laws to suppress their new-found independence. Making matters worse, there are reports that Islamist parties linked to the Shia-led government are trying to create client, sectarian unions.
Particular concern is caused by Decree 8750, passed last August by the interim administration of Ibrahim al-Jaafari. This provides for state control of the finances of all of Iraq's trade unions, and is seen as threatening their independence. A free trade-union movement, argue members, would do much to help the country avoid the ethnic and sectarian disputes at grassroots level that threaten to escalate into civil war. Historically, both the members and leaders of Iraq's unions have cut across ethnic and religious lines.
Hashmiya Mohsen, the feisty head of the Basra branch of the electricity workers' union, lists other ways in which independent, democratic unions can contribute to reconstruction: the inclusion of marginalised groups (women, for instance); the acceptance of elections as a part of life; and lessening the suspicion between local workers and foreign employers.
But first, says Ms Mohsen, one of very few female union bosses, the new prime minister, Jawad al-Maliki, should repeal Decree 8750. Determined to keep the idea of independence alive, she argues that getting rid of the decree “would be the best sign yet that Iraq's unions are seen as partners and not obstacles to our future.”
The Iraqi labour movement mourns with sadness the death of trade union leader, brother Torki al-Lihabi, President of the Transport and Communication Workers’ Union (TCWU) who has been killed in a road traffic accident in Baghdad on the evening of 20 March 2006.
Our late working class hero was instrumental in the formation of the Iraqi Federation Trade Unions (IFTU) and the creation of his own union, the TCWU after the fall of Saddam's dictatorship. He played a significant role in the re-birth of Iraq’s independent trade unions by working closely with the global labour movement. His union was the first to affiliate to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
The Iraqi Workers' Federation (IWF), while mourning our departed comrade and acknowledging the grave loss to his family and our movement, pledges that we shall continue with determination to build independent, democratic and free Iraqi trade unions.
Long live the working class.
IWF Executive Committee
The British TUC Iraq Solidarity Committee has published its second bi-monthly report outlining its work with Iraqi trade unions. A PDF version is available for download here.
More attacks on Iraqi unions
The General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) formed out of three Iraqi union confederations last autumn (see issue one) has formally complained to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director General about further attacks on the independence of the trade union movement by the Iraqi Government.
Following on from Decree 8750, the Iraqi government has now taken steps to interfere in the running of the Engineers' Union, by imposing a new leadership and appointing a group of government supporters to oversee new elections in the union. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), to which the TUC belongs, has supported the complaint.
The TUC Executive Committee in February will be considering a plan of action including:
* a formal protest by the TUC General Secretary to the Iraqi Ambassador to London;
* pressure from Parliamentarians such as an Early Day Motion; and
* a letter-writing campaign for trade union members, to put pressure on the Iraqi government.
The actions of the Iraqi government are, sadly, similar to the steps taken by Saddam Hussein in the 1970s before he completely took over the Iraqi trade union movement and suborned it to his ends, and the TUC will register those points strongly with the Iraqi government.
The TUC will also raise the latest attacks on the Iraqi unions with the British government. Foreign Office Ministers have been very supportive of the TUC's concerns over Decree 8750, and British diplomats in Baghdad have held several meetings with Ministers to express the British government's belief that trade unions should run their own affairs.
TUC Iraq Bulletin
In 2004, Congress called on the TUC to establish an Iraq Solidarity Committee, and that Committee has decided that a bulletin for trade unionists would help raise awareness of what is going on and encourage more trade unionists to give money to the TUC Aid for Iraq Appeal and get involved in practical solidarity with Iraqi and Kurdish trade unions. This bulletin will be published bimonthly on the TUC website.
The TUC Iraq Solidarity Committee is chaired for the General Council by Sue Rogers of the NASUWT, and includes representatives of sixteen affiliated unions as well as the ICFTU and STUC.
Teachers' delegation
Seven Iraqi teacher union representatives visited Britain in November in a very successful delegation that was organised by the TUC but hosted by the six largest teacher unions (ATL, AUT, EIS, NASUWT, NATFHE and NUT). The delegation spent time with each union, as well as visiting the TUC for talks, the House of Commons to meet trade union MPs and the Department for Education and Skills. EIS took the delegation to see the Scottish Parliament, which much impressed the leader of the Kurdish Teachers Union, while other unions took the delegation to a primary school in London, and national executive meetings in Birmingham and London. The delegation were even able to be present as the AUT and NATFHE announced their merger ballot result (no one mentioned that the Iraqis, with one union in Iraq and one in Kurdistan - both covering teachers from nurseries to universities - had already got a lot further in terms of mergers!) The delegation included people from several political persuasions, two women, and representatives of every educational sector. Although mostly funded by the British teacher unions, the delegation was also partly financed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A delegation report by Abdullah Muhsin of the GFIW is available on the TUC website at www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-11305-f0.cfm
Cancel Iraq's debt
The TUC will be backing the campaign to cancel the debts that Iraq built up under Saddam Hussein. The TUC Iraq Solidarity Committee considered a report from Justin Alexander of Jubilee Iraq (modeled on the Jubilee Debt Coalition), and agreed to call on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to speed up and complete the cancellation of the UK debt, and take steps inside the International Financial Institutions (the IMF, the World Bank and so on) to get them to follow suit. The TUC believes that repaying Saddam's debts won't help the Iraqi people rebuild their country: they weren't asked if they wanted to take the debt out, and they shouldn't now have to pay back those who bankrolled Saddam.
No to oil privatization
A new report on the ways in which the Iraqi oil industry is being stolen away from the nascent independent Iraqi government has been welcomed by the TUC. Crude Designs, produced by a consortium including War on Want, sets out how, rather than sell off the whole industry, neo-liberals in the west and Iraq are developing agreements with oil companies that amount to the same thing, without the same risk to the companies! The report is at www.waronwant.org/
New ICFTU project officer
The ICFTU have appointed a new co-ordinator for their Iraq project. Based in Amman, Ralf Erbel comes from the Friedrick Ebert Stiftung, and he will be oversee projects being conducted in Iraq, including, hopefully, some supported by the TUC.
Iraqi women head for Britain
Hard on the heels of the teachers union delegation, the TUC, Unison and the Nick Burdon and Denis Blockley Fund are hosting a delegation of two Iraqi women from Basra and two Kurdish women trade unionists in early March. The delegation will take part in the TUC's annual International Women's Day celebrations on 6 March and then will travel to the TUC Women's Conference in Eastbourne where they will address the conference and take part in a fringe meeting.
TUC Aid Iraq Appeal
The TUC is raising money for Iraqi trade unionists. This has so far been used for bringing Iraqi trade union leaders to Britain and to the ICFTU World Congress in December 2004, commemorating the assassination of IFTU leader Hadi Saleh and supporting the IFJ journalists' project. Click to give money online or find out more.
Newsletter (1,000 words) issued 30 Jan 2006
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 01/26/06
Author: Susan Webb
Iraq’s labor movement has formed a united permanent coordinating committee to “make its positions known” to the Iraqi government, and to challenge the dictates of international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Six union federations, including two Kurdish labor organizations, issued a joint statement, Jan. 16, stressing “the importance of complete sovereignty for Iraq over its petroleum and natural resources” to “develop them in a way that assures a complete reconstruction of the country” and to “provide a decent living standard for Iraqis.”
Just recently, complying with IMF/World Bank demands, the transitional government tripled the price of fuel, sparking street demonstrations and other protests throughout Iraq. Moves have also been made to privatize the country’s significant public sector, part of transnational-corporate-friendly “structural adjustment” measures demanded by the international agencies.
Responding to these moves, Iraq’s labor unions called for retraction of the oil price increase and “rejection of the reduction of spending on social services, especially the elimination of government support for the food distribution system or the reduction of the number of items covered.”
The global institutions must “stop imposing structural adjustment conditions for loans,” and must agree to “provide funding for public services and state-owned enterprises without demanding their privatization,” the unions declared. They called for cancellation of debts owed by Iraq that “resulted from the policies of the former [Saddam Hussein] regime,” and demanded that the international financial institutions “engage in dialogue, discussion and negotiations with the trade union federations regarding their policies in Iraq.”
The joint statement noted that “the Iraqi economy has been severely affected by decades of sanctions, wars and occupation” and that “the wars and occupation have caused a dramatic decrease in the living and social standards of Iraqis and especially of workers.”
The unions called for adoption of “a new labor law and a pension and social security law that assure workers’ rights and are in conformity with international labor standards and human rights conventions.”
Iraq Federation of Trade Unions spokesperson Abdullah Muhsin told the World the unified labor coordinating committee was formed “as a response to anti-union order no. 875 issued by the government of Prime Minister al Jafaari.”
Decree 875, announced last summer, revoked previous agreements permitting trade unions to function without government interference. Under the new decree, the government authorized itself to seize control of all trade union monies and prevent the unions from dispensing any funds.
“The notorious Decree 875” was issued “to try to prevent this united, democratic national trade union center emerging in Iraq, and we will not let him succeed,” IFTU President Rasem AlAwady told a British trade union conference last fall.
The IFTU, the largest of the country’s labor federations, was a key player in helping form the unified labor committee, Muhsin said. The IFTU has merged with other smaller federations to form the new General Federation of Iraqi Workers, which is now preparing to hold its first national conference.
The Jan. 16 statement was signed by the General Federation of Iraqi Workers, Oil Unions Federation in Iraq/Basra, Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, Kurdistan General Workers Syndicate Union/Erbil, and Iraqi Kurdistan Workers Syndicate Union.
suewebb@pww.org
The President of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), Rasem Alawady addressed a fringe meeting of British trade unionists on Wednesday 14 September on the most recent dramatic developments on the situation for trade unionists in Iraq. The meeting was sponsored by UNISON, Britain's largest union and chaired by Sue Rogers, Treasurer of teachers' union NASUWT and Chair of the British TUC's Iraq Solidarity Committee. UNISON Deputy General Secretary, Keith Sonnet who has recently returned from a trade union delegation to Iraqi Kurdistan also addressed the meeting.
Rasem Alawadi joined the Construction and Woodworkers' Union in 1957 and by 1959 had already been arrested for trade union activities. By 1968 he had become International Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) and also during this period became Vice President of the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions (ICATU).
In 1979 he was arrested in a purge by the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein that included the murder of GFTU President Mohamed Ayish. Rasem and others accused of plotting against the Iraqi dictator were imprisoned but escaped from Iraq in 1991, returning in April 2003 after the fall of Saddam's regime to establish the IFTU.
Rasem reminded the British trade unionists that Iraq's people continued to bleed from wounds inflicted by terrorism. Earlier that same day the TUC President, Jeannie Drake had informed delegates of the terrible news of yet another car bomb in Baghdad, deliberately targetted at Iraqi workers queuing outside an employment agency for desperately needed jobs. This horror followed the great tragedy a few weeks previously that saw a terrorist-inspired panic lead to the deaths of more than a thousand people in the stampede on Al Khadamiya bridge.
Such terror attacks fall on trade unionists on a regular basis, Rasem said: "When we go to our offices in the morning, we don't know whether we will be coming home again." Yet, Rasem insisted that despite the existence of these fundamentalists who attack working class people in their homes and workplaces and in the street, the IFTU remains optimistic. The foreign intervention feeds such extremism and that is why the IFTU reiterates its position of calling for an end to the occupation of Iraq by foreign armies.
On the furious debate that is taking place in Iraq over the new draft constitution, Rasem said; "In general we support the need for the new constitution, although we have great reservations about the current draft being proposed to the Iraqi parliament."
The IFTU's reservations are firstly the references to Islam and religion as the source of the law under the constitution, secondly the draft constitution's relegation of the position of women, thirdly the crude references to de-Ba'athification, which fail to distinguish between the bloody criminals of Saddam's regime and the many thousands of ordinary Iraqi people who may have joined Saddam's Ba'ath Party because of fear, or to protect a relative, or in order to access higher education or employment. Fourthly, the IFTU supports the principle of federalism in the draft Constitution, but opposes the sectarian way that this is being used by Islamists to divide Iraq.
Rasem said: "We are working for national unity on the basis of equality under the law. We have worked for over two years now for the creation of one united, democratic trade union movement in Iraq and we have now achieved this goal with the joint statements that were signed between the IFTU, the GFTU and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions" (GFITU - a fraction of the former state-run GFTU that split off following the fall of Saddam Hussein.
As a result of the detailed discussions that have taken place in the last few months between these three organisations, three joint statements have been issued calling for unity and there will be a further meeting in Damascus on Monday 19 September at the offices of the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, to formally recognise and adopt the merged federation, which will be known as the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions.
"The current government of Prime Minister, Al-Jaafari, has issued the notorious Decree 875 to try to prevent this united, democratic national trade union centre emerging in Iraq and we will not let him succeed", Rasem said.
Since the foreign forces invaded Iraq and occupied it, the IFTU has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and the ending of the interference in Iraq's affairs by foreign countries.
"The IFTU did not legitimise the occupation of Iraq, it was legitimise by the United Nations under Resolution 1483. Now it is time for the international labour movement to call clearly for Iraq's sovereignty to be returned and to assist democrats in Iraq to resist the attempts to breach women's rights and trade unionists' rights", Rasem concluded.
Bridge Stampede
More than 800 Iraqis were killed in a stampede in Kadhimiya in Baghdad on Wednesday 31 August 2005. It is a terrible tragedy.
Deep condolences are with the families who have lost loved ones.
The IFTU will shortly issue a statement.
31 August 2005
International Transport Workers' Federation
24 August 2005
The ITF has condemned a new decree in Iraq that crushes trade unions’ right to operate free of government interference or harassment.
The decree, passed on 7 August, revokes decisions taken on union rights by Iraq’s provisional government and permits the control and confiscation of trade union monies by the current authorities. It also states that the right to carry out union activities is to be reviewed.
In a letter dated 24 August, ITF General Secretary David Cockroft, told Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari: “We are concerned that control of Iraqi trade unions’ monies might lead to the weakening of the Iraqi unions’ capabilities,” and added: “This is considered a clear breach of the International Labour Organization (ILO) core labour standards on freedom of association and a direct attack on human rights in Iraq.”
He also called on the government to discuss any future review of trade union activities with the unions themselves and raised concerns that laws dating from 1987, forbidding union organisation in the public sector, remain in place.
Cockroft pledged to raise these issues with the ILO through the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
Commenting on the situation, Bilal Malkawi, ITF Arab World Offices said: “While the ITF, Global Union Federations, and many international trade union organisations are working intensively to support Iraqi workers, the government is taking this action instead of helping unions to face the challenges ahead. I am really shocked by these measures, but I know for sure that the Iraqi unions are in a strong enough position to keep moving forward.”
The Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions London Office reports today on the latest developments in respect of trade union and workers' rights in Iraq. The full text of a statement adopted by the Executive Committee of the IFTU is available now on the Arabic language section of this website and will shortly be available here on the English language section.
On 8 August, 2005 The Council of Ministers of the Iraqi Republic issued a Decree No. 875, which was signed by the Cabinet General Secretary and which marks a critical moment in post-Saddam Iraqi politics.
The Decree 875 revokes the former arrangements announced under the Transitional Law, for trade unions to operate and function without undue interference or harassment from the state.
Decree 875 reads:
"The Decree No. 3 issued by the Governing Council in 2004 led to the formation of a government Committee responsible for Labour and Social Rights headed by Naseer al-Charderdi. This Committee is no longer have the responsibility and. In its place a new Committee is established comprising the Ministers of Justice, the Interior, Finance, the Minister of State responsible for the Transitional Assembly, the Minister for Civil Society, and the Minister of National Security.
"This Committee must review all the decisions taken to oversee the implementation of Decree no. 3 since its publication in 2004 and must take control of all monies belonging to the trade unions and prevent them from dispensing any such monies.
"In addition I am proposing a new paper on how trade unions should function, operate and organise."
Signed
Dr Fahdal Abass
(Cabinet General Secretary) 7 August 2005.
This decree was copied to the following:
The Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr al-Jaafri;
The Under Secretary of the Council of Ministers;
All Ministries;
All Ministers of State;
The Supreme Federal Court;
The Council of the Judiciary;
The Head of the implementation Committee of Decree No. 3 (2004), Naseer
al-Charderdi;
All members of the above Committee;
The Cabinet General Secretary
UNISON NEWS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(22/8/05) The new Iraqi government is attempting to control trade union activity by overturning an agreement that allowed them to operate without any undue interference or harassment from the state.
A new decree adopted by the Iraqi Council of Ministers stated that the government would be ‘taking control of all monies belonging to the trade unions to prevent them from dispensing any such monies.’
The decree also says that a new paper on how trade unions should function, operate and organise will be prepared.
In a letter to the foreign secretary Jack Straw, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said the decree represents a major attack on the ability of independent and democratic trade unions to organise.
He pointed out that under the former agreement trade union issues were the responsibility of the Labour and Social Rights Committee whereas now the responsibility has been transferred to a new committee which will include a number of government ministers, but not the employment and social affairs minister.
“I am concerned that this decree, and especially the measures relating to trade union financial assets, is an attempt to curb the growth of free trade unions in Iraq,” said Prentis.
“On behalf of UNISON I would request that you raise this matter with the Iraqi authorities at the first possible occasion.”
UNISON News: 18/8/05 - The trade union movement in Iraq is growing by the day, despite the threats to the lives of union activists – and with the help of UNISON.
UNISON staff have just returned from Jordan and the first session in a one-year programme of training for Iraqi unionists, in the day-to-day skills required of union reps.
“It was brilliant, a real success,” said international officer Nick Crook. “The dedication of these people is incredible. Actually, it’s quite humbling.”
The risks for anyone trying to organise, or join a union in post-Saddam Iraq are very real. In January, the international secretary of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) was brutally tortured in his family home in Baghdad, before being shot.
Since then there have been attacks on numerous trade union members, including a number of train drivers.
“Local reps are in danger from both sides of the divide,” said Crook. “From the Saddam security forces, because unionists are seen as part of the new democratic Iraq that they are trying to disrupt. And from the religious fundamentalists, who see them as being anti-Islamic.
“But they even get hassle from the occupying forces,” he added, “because the Americans don’t like trade unionists either.”
Because of the threat, the UNISON course was held in Amman, which was safer both for the UNISON officers and the 20 Iraqi unionists on the course – 10 from the IFTU and 10 from the Iraqi Teachers Union.
Crook and two members of UNISON’s learning and organising services, Louise Chinnery and Pam Johnson, based the course on the union’s own lay tutor scheme, geared towards training UNISON members to themselves use education methods to run branch-based training and organising.
“Essentially, it’s a series of courses to train the trainers,” said Crook. “In this case we were helping the Iraqis develop their own training in such things as recruitment, workplace and negotiation skills.
“One problem they have is that they can’t organise public meetings, because they pose a security threat. So we are also training them how to conduct small-scale workplace meetings and one-on-ones - which are actually good ways to go in and talk to people.”
Unions are already starting to flex their muscles in their country, according to Crook. Railway, hotel and airport workers have taken industrial action in protest at the physical threats to members, as well as more traditional workplace concerns. “It has shown that they are capable of organising,” he said.
Personnel Today: 19 August 2005 10:30
The trade union movement in Iraq is growing by the day, despite the threats to the lives of union activists, according to British unionists training Iraqi reps.
Unison staff have just returned from Jordan and the first session in a one-year programme of training for Iraqi unionists, in the day-to-day skills required of union reps.
Twenty Iraqi unionists were on the course – 10 from the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) and 10 from the Iraqi Teachers Union.
Because of the threat to trade unionists from insurgents, fundamentalists and even American forces, the Unison course was held in the city of Amman in Jordan.
“It was brilliant, a real success,” said international officer Nick Crook. “The dedication of these people is incredible. Actually, it’s quite humbling.”
The risks for anyone trying to organise or join a union in post-Saddam Iraq are very real. In January, the international secretary of the IFTU was brutally tortured in his family home in Baghdad, before being shot.
Since then there have been attacks on numerous trade union members, including a number of train drivers.
Author: Michael Millar
The IFTU met recently with the head of the United Nations Support Team to the Drafting Committee for the new draft Constitution of the Federal Republic of Iraq, Mr Justin Alexander.
The meeting took place on Thursday 11 August 2005 at 14.00 hours Baghdad time in the Palace of congress in Baghdad. Representing the IFTU at the meeting were; Abdullah Muhsin (IFTU International Representative), Adnan Rashid (IFTU Executive Committee member and editor of IFTU’s weekly newspaper, ‘Workers’ Unity’), Ghasib Hassan (IFTU Executive Committee member and former President of Railway and Airline Workers’ Union).
The IFTU had requested the meeting because of mounting concern among workers’ organisations in Iraq that the work of the Drafting Committee is not respecting key International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions that have been the cornerstone of the IFTU’s campaign for workers’ rights in a modern democratic and federal Iraq.
The IFTU drew the UN Support Team’s attention to four discrete areas within the draft Constitution, which has changed frequently in recent weeks and which according to the IFTU in its current draft fails to adequately address the justified concerns of its members. These are;
1. Rights of Children: IFTU wishes to insist on the rights of Children aged younger than 16 years of age, not to be allowed to work and to have a full education. IFTU expressed its concern that the draft Constitution made general references to the rights of children without defining at what age these rights apply. In IFTU’s estimation this is a serious weakness, which would have the effect of undermining future attempts to improve the terrible situation for Iraqi children.
2. Right to Strike: IFTU expressed its strong dismay that an explicit Constitutional right of workers to take strike action has been removed from the draft version of the Constitution, although such a right exists in the current Transitional Administrative Law. The draft Constitution refers only to the right of workers to representation, without defining the right of workers to join or form the trade union representation of their choice, or as mentioned the right to withdraw their labour.
3. Rights of Women: IFTU made clear the complete opposition of the trade union to any attempt to revive the notorious Decree 137, which sought to remove the fundamental human rights of women in the name of imposing sharia law. Womens’ rights to marriage, divorce, to own property, inherit and pass on property to their children and others, to access education at all levels, to work and to play a full part in all aspects of civil society and political life must be guaranteed in the Constitution of a modern democratic, federal Iraq.
4. Separation of Politics and Religion: IFTU insists on the complete separation of the powers and authority of ‘the mosque’ from the constitutional state law. Freedom to practice religion must be guaranteed by the Constitution. The Constitution should not take Islam as its sole source of legitimacy.
Following the meeting between IFTU and the UN Support Team, a further meeting was arranged between IFTU and the Head of the Drafting Committee, in order for the IFTU to formerly place on record its position on the draft Constitution. This meeting took place on Saturday 13 August, 2005.
Hangaw Abdulla Khan, President of Kurdish Union Federation
An initial background on the trade union movement in Kurdistan and the areas of operation was given. There are six trade unions in Iraqi Kurdistan affiliated to the Federation covering transport, construction and other trades. Membership stands at 100,000 (card holders). All the Federation’s revenue is generated from membership fees.
In 1991, two sanctions were imposed on Kurdistan: one by the UN alongside the creation of a ‘safe haven’ and a second sanction was introduced by Saddam because of the UN safe haven. During this period, villages were destroyed, causing a mass exodus of young people.
In 1992 a regional government was granted to the area. The Federation formed openly and was able to operate without interference. Civil society organisations were established free from state intervention.
Khan appealed to trade unionists in Britain to support the movement in Iraq Kurdistan. He made an open invitation to British colleagues to see the achievements that have been made in recent times. He said the region was safe for people to visit and encouraged people to come as tourists, as investment was badly needed and unemployment was high. He conveyed special thanks to the Fire Brigades Union for the donations that they made. He said the money had been distributed to the five governance areas to assist in building capacity.
What is needed?
* assistance for reconstruction: trade union buildings are still shells; in addition to buildings, equipment and furniture are needed, especially computers, cars and faxes;
* a cultural and training centre; and
* training in Iraq/Kurdistan and abroad.
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.
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.
The AFL-CIO has the following report on the Iraqi Trade Union tour of the USA
Iraqi Unionists Rebuilding Devastated Union Movement
June 14—Iraqi unionists are overcoming tough obstacles—including security issues, high unemployment and a lack of strong workers’ rights laws—to rebuild the nation’s union movement, Iraqi union leaders say.
“Our fundamental goal is a progressive, modern, civilized labor law that guarantees workers’ rights,” says Falah Alwan, president of the Federation of Workers’ Councils and Unions of Iraq. “We have an incredible opportunity to build a progressive, independent labor movement that could be a model for the entire Middle East.” “We have modest and simple resources yet an iron will to re-build our labor movement,” said Adnan Rashed, an executive officer and leader of the Union of Mechanics, Printing and Metals Workers of the Iraqi Federation of Workers’ Trade Unions (IFTU).
Alwan, Rashed and four other Iraqi trade union leaders spoke June 13 at the AFL-CIO and will meet with federation President John Sweeney on June 15. The AFL-CIO, affiliated unions and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) are assisting Iraqi unions in building an effective union movement while trying to create a secure peace under very difficult and complicated circumstances.
Unions Seek Increased Role for Women Workers
The new laws must be based on internationally recognized labor standards, such as the freedom to join a union, says Abed Sekhi, a member of the IFTU executive council and a member of the Agricultural Workers’ Union. Iraq’s union leaders also plan to help ensure a bigger role in the economy for working women, who make up 60 percent of the workforce, he says.
Unemployment is high, especially among women, Alwan says. Women play a limited role in the Iraqi union movement, he says, but they must be included if the nation is to throw off the repressive conditions of the previous regime.
Iraq had a thriving union movement several decades ago, but many unions were forced underground in 1987 when former dictator Saddam Hussein outlawed unions representing public-sector workers, who made up 80 percent of the nation’s workforce. Some public-sector unions re-emerged in 2003 after the U.S. invasion. Unions that remained in the private sector were government fronts and oppressed workers, says Alwan. “So we are starting from zero due to a lack of a real trade union culture.”
Workers in Iraq face many of the same issues as workers in other parts of the world, but addressing those issues is complicated by the chaotic situation in the country and the lack of security, the leaders say. Alwan, Rashed and Sekhi and three other Iraqi leaders say Iraqis must be able to build their own institutions and they expressed a desire for a rapid U.S. troop withdrawal, offering a variety of conditions needed that must be in place before they believe U.S. troops should depart.
Iraqi Unions Fighting Privatization of Nation’s Oil Industry
Key issues for Iraqi workers include wages, poor working conditions, lack of safety and health protections and the threat of privatization of the nation’s oil industry, says Hassan Juma’a Awad Al Asade, chief of the executive bureau of the General Union of Oil Workers (GUOW) in Basra.
“Since the re-establishment of our union in 2003, we immediately fought for and got better wages for our members yet the road is still long in terms of meeting the majority of our demands for better working conditions,” said Faleh Abbood Umara, general secretary, GUOW-Basra.
All the leaders agree international solidarity is crucial to their success in building an effective Iraqi union movement. “We can’t do this alone,” Alwan says. “We’re all in the same situation and we need your support and solidarity.”
Updated: June 14, 2005
Iraqi unions claim their voice
David Bacon
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Chronicle Sunday Insight
Baghdad -- For most Americans, the idea that Iraq has unions is a strange concept. We have become accustomed to seeing images of soldiers and bombs, while Iraq's working families have little visibility and are given little consideration in U.S. policy debates.
Yet Iraq, a country of 24 million people, has a long history of civic and labor activism dating back to the 1920s, when the British dug the first oil wells, and oil workers organized their first unions. They weren't legal then - - in fact, the British shot strikers in one of Iraq's first labor confrontations. They're not legal now, either.
Saddam Hussein, fearing a progressive movement to topple his dictatorship, banned unions for public workers in 1987. Iraq's public sector includes all of its largest industries -- oil, railroads, ports and big factories.
When the occupation began, however, U.S. authorities refused to repeal that law, despite promises of democracy. Instead, chief occupation administrator Paul Bremer issued Public Order 30 in September 2003 to privatize Iraq's state-owned industries. Thomas Foley, a fund-raiser for President Bush, drew up lists of factories, airlines, railroads, mines and other enterprises to be sold to private investors, including foreign corporations. Despite last January's elections, that program is still on the books.
Iraqi workers adamantly oppose privatization, since it would lead to massive job loss in a country already suffering 70 percent unemployment, according to economists at Baghdad University. To Iraqi unions, denying them legal status is a way to keep them weak in the face of the occupation's economic program.
Yet Iraqi unions -- despite lacking legal status and often being the targets of the occupation on the one hand and terrorists on the other -- have begun winning better conditions for workers. Hundreds of thousands of workers have joined, according to Iraqi labor organizers, making unions the largest institution in Iraqi civil society.
Oil workers recently held a large congress in Basra to voice their opposition to privatizing oil, or selling it to transnational corporations at discounted prices. Oil income, they said, is needed to rebuild their country. Their union calls for keeping public assets in public hands. It also calls for an end to the occupation, and the withdrawal of U.S., British and other foreign troops. Today, Iraq has several union federations. They don't always agree on everything, but on these two points, they see eye-to-eye.
Most Americans hope that the occupation will end too, replaced by a progressive government that will raise living standards and ensure a democratic and peaceful future. The war deprives working families in the United States of the money needed for education and public services, and it sends their children into harm's way. Yet instead of bringing prosperity and peace to Iraqis, the war has brought the opposite. Working families in both countries want the same thing.
That makes it important to seek out the voices of Iraq's unions, its women's, professional and student organizations, and hear what they have to say. Their voice is missing in the debate over the future of their country.
(1) Defiant: A worker at Iraq's state leather industry factory denounces the ban on unions. Many workers view organizing as their right after years under dictatorship. As Ghasib Hassan, general secretary of the Union for Aviation and Railway Workers and member of the executive committee of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, explained: "The IFTU was established soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein by trade unionists who had been in exile or prison, who are very well known because of their struggle against the former regime. They paid heavily and suffered terribly. ... We began going out to factories. We formed committees in workplaces, and people nominated and elected their representatives freely. We are building a trade union movement which is independent, democratic and pluralist. Workers should be freee to join the union of their own choice. We campaign for social, economic and political advances in the interest of working people. We want a federal, prosperous and democratic Iraq. Women should take their place in society, government and trade unions. Their wages should be equal to those of men. We've built 12 national unions, and women are leaders of some."
Terrorists kill 50 workers in Baghdad and injure many other workers - some critically
On 23 May 2005 a suicide car bomb exploded amidst construction, plastic and painters workers who were waiting in the centre of the district town of Al Talibia in Baghdad to be picked up for work.
50 workers were killed instantly and many other workers were injured. Some have life-threatening injuries
The IFTU strongly condemns these vile atrocities against our brave workers calls upon the state relevant authorities to put an end to such vile acts and further calls upon the transitional government to take urgent steps to protect the lives of innocent working people who are working day and night to rebuild Iraq and to bring those criminals and terrorists who have killed and terrorized others to justice so that they can receive their just punishment.
Glory and honour to the martyrs of the Iraqi working class
Long live the Iraqi working class
IFTU
Information Office
25 May 2005
The Public Service Workers' Union, an IFTU affiliate, has issued a statement condemning terrorist attacks against hairdressers.
A wave of terrorist attacks carried out against workers in beauty saloons in Baghdad and across many other cities in the middle and south of Iraq has resulted in the brutal murders of many workers in this field who are struggling in the most difficult circumstance to earn a living so as to feed their families and children. These innocent workers have been subjected to the most barbaric and violent murders at the hands of backward terrorists who have no regards to human rights and who are killing them because they claim hairdressing is an 'un-Islamic' practice which must be stopped.
These extremists who are killing hairdressers without mercy are murdering them in the same way they assassinated prominent Iraqi patriots such as engineers, businessmen and doctors and bombed worship places such as churches and mosques.
These barbarians are killing in the name of Islam, but Islam is a peaceful religion and forbids such act of violence.
The Public Service Workers Union strongly condemns these vile acts and calls upon the new transitional government to take urgent steps to protect the lives of innocent hairdressers who are doing a public service to Iraqis and to bring those criminals and terrorists who have killed and terrorized others to justice so that they can receive their just punishment.
May God bless the souls of our murdered brothers and may they rest in heaven.
Condolences and deepest sympathy are with the bereaved families
Glory to the martyrs of Iraqi democracy.
The Public Service Workers Union
The Executive Committee
Baghdad, 22 May 2005
A suicide car bomb exploded amidst workers who were waiting in the centre of the town of Tikrit to be picked up for work.
33 workers were killed instantly and 88 workers were injured. Some have life-threatening injuries.
And in separate act of terrorism, two cleaning workers were killed in Baghdad by a roadside bomb.
On May 14 2005, in the Al-Dorah district of Baghdad, two roadsweepers were killed by a roadside bomb planted by terrorists.
The IFTU strongly condemns these atrocities against innocent workers and calls upon the Iraqi authorities to take urgent measures to protect the life of workers while carrying out their duties and further calls on it to bring to justice the killers, perpetrators of these heinous crime against defenceless people.
Our deepest sympathy and condolences are with the bereaved families
Glory to the martyrs of the Iraqi working class.
IFTU Information Office
22 May 2005
At the May Day celebrations in Baghdad this year, the President of the IFTU Mr Rasem Al Awadi honoured 20 trade unionists for their services to working people and patriotic sacrifices for Iraq and the trade union movement.
The IFTU President Mr Rasem Al Awadi honoured the 20 veterans of the Iraqi Trade Union movement, including Hadi Saleh our murdered comrade.
These comrades fought for democracy, jobs and above all the right of Iraqi working people to form and join independent, free and democratic trade unions, for the right to strike and the right to trade union representation.
Fuad Al Alaskary,
Satar Areaby,
Ibrahim al Bana,
Farage Eaalewi,
Ali Al Ghazaly,
Hashim Hamdan,
Abass Hussein.
Sadeq Jaffer,
Hatab Juna,
Shaee Khassem,
Mohammed Khthban,
Askar Ileaby,
Jassem Mashkur,
Abdel Razaq Mazed,
Hashim Mufti,
Basheer Naama,
Salam Daud Narjes,
Jabar Nasah,
Hadi Saleh,
Shaker Salman.
IFTU
20 May 2005
The Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions celebrated May Day in Baghdad with a mass rally at the Iraqi National Theatre in Baghdad. The May Day rally was reported in 'Tareek al-Shaab', the weekly newspaper of the Iraqi Communist Party. The report (in Arabic) is here.
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions - ICEM recently held a very successful Conference and series of workshops for trade unions from Arabic-speaking countries in Amman, Jordan.
Two Iraqi unions affiliated to the IFTU, from the all-important energy sector participated in the ICEM conference from 16-20 April 2005.
Jim Catterson from ICEM and general secretary, Fred Higgs welcomed the IFTU delegation to the Amman Conference
ICEM in coordination with the German Social Democrat Foundation, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Amman and the Jordanian General Trade Union for workers in the Mining and Metal Industries organised workshops for oil, energy and mining unions across the middle east.
The two IFTU-affiliated unions (the Oil and Gas Workers’ Union & the Electricity Workers’ Union) took part alongside 40 participants representing Oil, Mine and Energy unions from countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya to debate the impact of globalisation on workers and how best to face its challenges.
Conference was opened by speeches from the Jordanian Deputy Minister of Labour, the Chairman of the Arab Mining Workers Federation, Mr Fuzi Abd Bary, the President of the Jordanian General Trade Union for Workers in the Mining and Metal Industries and Hanz Remer the FES representative in Jordan. ICEM General Secretary, brother Fred Higgs concluded the morning session.
In his address to the workshop Fred Higgs said: "ICEM opposed the US and UK unilateral military intervention in Iraq in 2003. ICEM fought for a greater role for the UN in dealing with Iraq’s issue."
Mr Higgs also supported the Palestinian struggle for the creation of a two-state solution and said his global federation will continue to support the Palestine for just demand for sovereign state alongside the Israeli state.
During the second morning session various trade unions presented reports from their countries. Mr Abdel-Latef Jamal of the Iraqi Oil and Gas Workers’ Union gave a report of the developments and activities of his union. He said that his union now has 16 Branches in Baghdad alone and has set up more than 120 workplace committees with each committee consisting of 5 to 7 elected worker representatives.
Jalal Ali Zubown of the Electricity Workers Union also gave a report on behalf of his union.
During the afternoon session Jim Catterson, head of ICEM’s International Department presented a paper on the impact of globalisation on the Chemical, Energy and Mining Sector.
Conference then divided into groups during which the IFTU was elected to chair the meeting and the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions to present the findings.
Solidarity Works: participants split up into working groups at the ICEM Conference
Jim Catterson also gave a paper on ICEM’s international solidarity work, which received great appreciation from participants and was used as a clear basis for discussion, analysis and developing suggestions on how best to tackle the challenges of privatisation and globalisation in the region.
The ICEM Workshop concluded on 19 April 2005 by agreeing a number of priorities, including:
1. support of Iraqi and Palestinian trade unionists as they strive to build genuine unions in the most difficult circumstances typified by aggression, occupation and threats of extremism.
2. To organise workshops on privatisation for trade unions in the region, including the subject of social dialogue, the exploitation of sub-contracted agency workers and on international labour legal standards.
3. to hold another regional meeting in 2006 for the Arabic speaking countries before the next ICEM congress in 2007.
4. to build the ICEM in the region.
On the fringe of the Conference the IFTU delegation (Oil and Gas Workers Union, The Electricity Workers Union and the IFTU International Representative) held a number of highly informative and positive solidarity meetings with various union representatives, including: Mr Mohammed Mussa, President of the Petrochemical Workers Union (affiliated to the Palestine General Federation of Trade Union - PGFTU); Mr Hussain Al-Foqahaa, a member of the National Secretariat of the PGFTU and the General Secretary of Public Service Union.
The IFTU delegation also met with representatives of three Turkish trade unions: Mr Nihat Yurdakul, President of the Municipal and General Workers Union as well as the General Secretary of Petroleum, Chemical & Rubber Workers’ Trade Union and International officer of the Turkis Trade Union Federation and Mr Kemal Ozkan of the DISK federation.
At all its meetings the IFTU explained its position on the US/UK-led war in Iraq, the occupation and the current political process. The IFTU sought international solidarity and greater unity between workers of the region as they face the onslaught of neo-liberal policies of privatisation and the economic occupation of their countries.
The Transport and Communication Workers' Union (IFTU) is proud to report its recent decision to affiliate to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). A formal letter applying for affiliation to the Global Union Federation was hand-delivered to the ITF General Secretary, David Cockroft in London recently.
The ITF was founded in 1896 in London by European seafarers' and dockers' union leaders who realised the need to organise internationally against strike breakers. During the 1920s and 30s in Europe, the ITF worked to oppose the rise of fascism. Today 624 unions representing 4,400,000 transport workers in 142 countries are members of the ITF. It is one of several Global Federation Unions allied with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). The Iraqi Railway Workers' Union is also currently in the process of affiliation to the ITF.
As part of an ongoing organising and trade union education drive, the Transport & Communication Workers' Union recently held several open seminars for members of its Baghdad branches. The meetings, which took place throughout March and April were open to the Iraqi media and other interested representatives of civil society organisations and were attended by many hundreds of rank and file trade union activists.
The seminars were organised as a forum for Iraqi transport workers to discuss many issue of interest to the union particularly developing a trade union strategy for tackling problems of wage levels, working conditions, pensions and unemployment.
Those attending the seminars were able to hear reports and question IFTU representatives who have been attending discussions under the auspices of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) to formulate clear and broadly-supported demands for a new labour code to form part of the new Iraqi Constitution currently under discussion in the Iraqi Parliament.
The IFTU also announced that it has begun preparations for its 2005 May Day celebrations and public rally in central Baghdad. The IFTU has booked Baghdad's National Theatre as a venue for its celebrations of international workers' day when we commemorate the Haymarket Martyrs and all the victims of the struggle against oppression and exploitation and for workers' dignity and freedom.
- Statement ends -
The National Association of Schoolmasters & Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) recently invited Abdullah Muhsin of the IFTU and Mahdy Ali Lafta of the Iraqi Teachers’ Union to attend their national conference 27 March-1 April 2005 in Brighton. NASUWT organised a well-attended fringe meeting on 29 March for the Iraqi Teachers’ Union (see text of address below) and the Colombian Teachers’ Union under the title: 'Perscuted Teachers', chaired by Pat Lerew former President of NASUWT 2004-2005.
The meeting was opened by a brief speech of support from the current NASUWT President Peter McLoughlin. Jerry Bartleft, NASUWT Deputy General Secretary also spoke in support of teachers’ struggles in both Iraq and Colombia.
On the evening of the 28 March the President addressed his speech to Conference after introducing foreign delegates. On 30 March the Education Minister and Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary addressed conference. On 31 March the shadow minister for education also addressed conference.
Iraqi Teachers' Union representative, Mahdy Ali Lafta’s speech to NASUWT Conference:
"First of all let me pass on the greetings of my union to your conference and to all your members.
"Iraq today is bleeding and this must be stopped. It must come to an end now.
"We are sure that Iraq will be a democratic and secure state where Iraqis will enjoy freedom, pluralism and a federal state.
"Extremists - both Saddam's loyalists and foreign fundamentalists - will not be allowed to succeed.
"The 30th of January (Iraqi elections) was a truly a victory for the people of Iraq against the forces of darkness and dictatorship.
"We are pleased and honoured to be invited to attend your conference and now let me tell you a little about the history of the Teachers’ Union in Iraq.
"The Teachers’ Union was formed in mid-1940 as an independent and democratic union. In May 2003 we began to rebuild the union on the same principles of independence and transparency.
"The union held its first conference in 1959 and in subsequent years the union gained many progressive achievements for Iraqi teachers in both industrial and educational fields.
"But the union faced extreme pressure and violent attacks under the regime of Saddam. The Union was transformed by the regime into instrument of violence and of the state. Thus the union became only a shell representing the interests of the state and Saddam’s Party and not the needs and aspiration of teachers.
"During this period in the 1980s and after, the Union was led by high leading members of Saddam’s Ba’ath Party. Saddam transformed the union into fascistic state-front. Thousands of teachers were killed, imprisoned and dismissed from their jobs.
"This situation continued from 1979 till the fall of Saddam in April 2003.
"After the fall of the regime on 9 April 2003 many patriotic trade unionist teachers sought to build a new teacher union based on real values and democratic principle regardless of political affiliation, race or religion.
"As result of this political commitment and the need to build civil society, key Iraqi political forces helped the union with structural resources to organise conferences for the union branches across Iraq and as a result many officials were elected.
"In Baghdad the union branch held its Open Conference in July 2003 and elected the leadership of the Teachers' Union in Baghdad. I was elected as the head of union in Baghdad, Al Rusafah district.
"This has culminated in holding the Teachers' Union national conference on 3 August 2003, which elected members of its National Executive, of which I am a member. The union now represents over a quarter of a million members with in Baghdad alone over 100,000 members."
The following interview with Ghasib Hassan, a member of the Executive Committee of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) and a former president of the Union for Aviation and Railway Workers was carried out by David Bacon, a labour journalist and founding member of US Labor Against the War, at the recent Solidarity Conference with Iraqi Trade Unions organised by the TUC in London.
Ghassib Hassan: "We oppose the occupation absolutely... This is not liberation. It is occupation. It's led to the total destruction of the economic infrastructure of Iraq, with the aim of controling its wealth and resources."
DB: What do you think about the elections that took place in January?
GH: The IFTU supports democratic principles, and one of those principles is elections. So we supported them. The IFTU wants to see a democratically elected and accountable government, mandated by the people, so we could raise our legitimate questions and concerns. Our members have voted for those secular candidates who support their right to join union, their right to representation. The elections took place in a relatively free and democratic manner, after a long, long absence. Despite all the obstacles placed by the extremists who wanted to stop this process from moving forward we saw Iraqis of all ethnicities and nationalities, from all sectors of Iraqi society, come out and vote. This election was also a way of facing head-on those extremists and anti-democratic forces who don't want to see Iraq a democratic and secure state.
DB: How will the political situation change as a result?
GH: The election will lead to the formation of a national assembly, which will be representative of all the Islamist and secular forces, moving forward toward a stable and secure situation, where the institution of democracy will be allowed to go forward. We hope the incoming national government will take urgent steps to form secure economic and social policies, to give people jobs and hopes, especially on the issue of their insecurity. The incoming national assembly will appoint a president and two vice-presidents, an interim government, and write a constitution for Iraq, after which there will be elections.
DB: Critics of the elections in the US say it's not possible to have free elections under the occupation, and that they'd be used by the Bush administration to legitimize it. How do you respond to this?
GH: We respect this view of our friends in the United States, and we understand the situation from reading the media. As a people, this is the first time we've exercised our right to have a government and assembly that are really appointed by the people themselves. The elections weren't perfect, but it should also be understood that the people who came out did so because they wanted peace and democracy and law. They don't want to see any more dictatorship. They don't want to see division. And this should be encouraged and supported. No election anywhere in the world is totally perfect or totally genuine. We live in a country torn by wars and dictatorship. As a people, we have been deprived of democracy. This is the first time we practice it by voting for those who govern us. By voting we're saying yes to democracy. The incoming assembly will only be a transitional assembly for a short period, for only one year. Soon we'll have another general election to elect a permanent, accountable government, with a constitution. Then people will see what this government is all about. As a representative of the working class, we support the Iraqi people in their desire for democracy and the right to elect their own representatives.
DB: What is the attitude of the IFTU toward the occupation.
GH: We oppose the occupation absolutely. We know they've said many things about it. One is that it's for the liberation of Iraq. This is what the American politicians and media tell us - that they've come to liberate our country. This is not liberation. It is occupation. It's led to the total destruction of the economic infrastructure of Iraq, with the aim of controling its wealth and resources. Another disastrous policy was the dismantling of the Iraqi Army, which had a long nationalist tradition. There's been a deliberate destruction of our national and cultural heritage, like the looting of the National Museum, and stationing occupation forces in historical places like Babel, Ur and Nineveh. That will lead to the destruction of these sites, and they can never be replaced. The Iraqi people are calling today, not tomorrow, for the removal of the occupation. US policy toward Iraq is not clear - it can change in a moment. The key political forces in Iraq are in discussion with the occupation forces in line with UN Resolution 1546, calling for the withdrawal of the troops and attaining the full sovreignty of Iraq. Bush and Rumsfeld have said that if the Iraqi government asks them to leave, they'll leave. It seems there is disagreement in the US administration - some want to stay and some want to leave. Their policy is unclear.
During the first few days of the occupation, the people were not so hostile to the US forces. They were happy to see the removal of Saddam Hussein. But because of the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other abuses, they've found themselves in confrontation with the Iraqi people, who want them to leave. Their presence has impacted civilians, and the whole country. On a daily basis, at least 10-15 people die, and this can't be good. This is a result of terrorism, but terrorism wasn't present prior to the war. You can see that the US administration has imported terrorism into Iraq in order to fight it, but at the expense of the Iraqi people.
I want to talk about the brutality of the occupation. The war has resulted in extreme destruction of our country. Whole factories and workplaces have been destroyed. Some of those which survived, were then destroyed later by the occupation forces. The occupation has increased unemployment, which has now become a major problem for Iraqi workers. It is very dangerous to have such high unemployment in a country with such wealth.
We call on your solidarity to end the brutal occupation of our country. At the beginning of the 21st century, we thought we'd seen the end of colonies, but now we're entering a new era of colonialization. We are campaigning to end the occupation of Iraq, to build a democratic, federal Iraq which will guarantee the rights and jobs of its people.
DB: Bremer issued orders allowing for the privatisation of Iraqi enterprises, and published lists of enterprises which would be sold off. What is the attitude ot the IFTU toward privatization?
GH: We need investment, but we don't want privatisation. Investment can bring us technology and skills and training. Privatisation will take all of Iraq's wealth away. Iraqi publicly owned enterprises should stay publicly owned.
DB: The IMF and World Bank have said they'd cancel a certain percentage of the national debt if Iraq accepted their reforms and privatisation. Does the IFTU accept this?
GH: If they're genuinely willing to cancel the debt, they should cancel it, without putting any conditions on it. The debt wasn't incurred because of construction, but destruction. If there are attachments to it, we need to know what they are. The World Bank has its own interest, and it's working for it. The World Bank has never done anything in Iraq until now.
DB: What about the oil? There have been recent proposals for private investment in the oil industry. Might this lead to privatisation?
GH: We support investment in the oil sector. We will never accept the privatisation of oil. Oil must remain in the hands of the public. It is the only source of wealth we can use to rebuild our country.
We need training to equip Iraqis with new skills, appropriate to new technology, and we have to work to reduce the level of unemployment.
DB: There are a number of union federations in Iraq. What relationship should exist among them?
GH: As a federation, our primary concern is with the needs of working people. Any Iraqi who works for that we're willing to meet and talk with. We have 12 unions, and we operate across Iraq. Working for better jobs and working conditions are the primary criteria for judging people. We don't try to veto the effort of any Iraqi worker to join a union of his or her own choice to advance their rights. Many of the people active in our union are very well known because of their struggle against the former regime of Saddam Hussein. They paid heavily. Our primary need is to create an independent trade union agenda and campaign on behalf of working people.
In the IFTU we campaign on these issues. We must build a trade union movement which is independent, democratic and pluralist. Workers should be freee to join the union of their own choice. We campaign for social, economic and political advances in the interest of working people. We want a strong working class positioned to engage fully in building a federal, prosperous and democratic Iraq.
Women should take their place in society, government and trade unions. Their wages should be equal to those of men. We now have women who are leaders of national unions in the IFTU.
The IFTU was established soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Those who participated were trade unionists who had been in exile or prison, and who had suffered terribly. The IFTU is building free, democratic workers' committees. Our executive committee was formed in an open meeting on May 16th, 2003, in a convention of grassroots trade unionists who were all opposed to Saddam Hussein.
After that meeting, we initiated our work and began going out to factories. We formed committees in the workplaces, which were elected in meetings, and where we sent out notices two weeks beforehand. People could nominate and elect their representatives freely.
The IFTU supported the first struggle under the occupation, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, where 800 workers in a bicycle factory in Mamoudiya called for raises, and the management refused. The union for the printing and mechanical industry negotiated with the management, and gave them two weeks notice that if there were no raises, the workers would strike. After striking for five hours, the management agreed.
We've built 12 national unions, and six of them have held open conferences. We've held elections from the workshop level to the leadership -- free and democratic elections, with competing candidates in an open process. In the next few months, we'll hold conferences for the other six unions.
DB: After the beginning of the occupation, the Coalition Provisional Authority decided to enforce sections of Saddam Hussein's old labor code which prohibit unions for workers in state enterprises or in public service, and the present government has continued this policy. What changes do you advocate in Iraq's labor laws?
GH: We need to repeal the anti-union laws of the past, and write a labor code which adheres to the ILO standards. In particular, we need to repeal Law 150 from1987, which bans unions in the public sector. This law was designed to repress the labor movement, and deny workers their rights. The Saddam Hussein regime removed workers pensions, and stole billions of dinars, which it used to finance wars of aggression. As a result, the Iraqi unions were reduced from 12 national unions to 6. Unions were banned in railways and aviation, in the printing and mechanical industry, in oil, in electricity and poweer generation, and in textiles and leather products. We are now working to repeal this law.
We are faced with an extremely difficult situation. The existing government says it has no right to repeal this law. This recent election will result in an incoming, transitional assembly and governement, which can take action.
But we didn't stop organizing workers because of the 1987 law. We defied the law, and organized in the public sector in areas where unions were banned. We have written to the Iraqi government, to insist that the government respect workers' right to organize, and to join the union of their choice.
We've been in dialogue about the new labor code. A draft was put forward in Jordan in October last year, and most federations were present. It was amended on many points, and has been printed with those amendments, and the draft given to the government. We hope it will be adopted by the transitional government.
Unions should have autonomy, and make their own decisions. Workers should be free to organize. We believe in a real democracy, where workers should choose their own leaders.
Ghassib Hassan interviewed by David Bacon
London, 2/15/05
The preparatory committee of the Electricity Workers Union, an IFTU affiliate, organized a protest on Thursday 24 March 2005 against terror.
Hundreds of protesters supported by many more Iraqis gathered at al-Wazeria district in Baghdad and marched towards the Ministry of Electricity shouting "No, no to terrorism!" Once protesters reached the Electricity Ministry, they delivered a petition calling on the authority to provide security and safety for workers while carrying out their duties and to take serious steps to safeguard the wealth of the nation from criminal acts and sabotage.
IFTU executive committee
24 March 2005
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs conceded recently a new national rate of unemployment pay. The Ministry has set the new rate at 130 000 Iraqi Dinars per month for all those registered with the Ministry's official employment centres.
The IFTU has met with officials from the Ministry and has consistently demanded that clear and transparent systems are implemented by the Ministry for claiming and receiving unemployment pay and that a national standard rate is published.
The IFTU continues to campaign for jobs for Iraqi workers and to raise the rate of unemployment pay.
The IFTU recently held two seminars for trade unionists in Baghdad on 6 and 7 March 2005 on the proposed labour code. In particular the seminars were intended to inform Iraqi trade unionists about the progress and content of the discussions which have been taking place in Amman, Jordan with the assistance of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Middle East Office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The IFTU has joined with other trade unionists to commit itself to establishing a Labour Code which incorporateskey ILO Conventions into the new Iraqi Constitution, which will be put to a referendum later this year.
The IFTU has called consistently for the repeal of the 1987 Labour Law introduced by the regime of Saddam Hussein and sees the campaign for positive labour rights as an essential step in building a strong and united trade union movement and overcoming the problems and difficulties currently facing Iraqi unions.
- Statement ends -
Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU):
c/o UNISON,
1 Mabledon Place,
London WC1H 9AJ.
Tel?: 00 44 79 76 84 68 68
Email: abdullahmuhsin@iraqitradeunions.org
The IFTU-supported strike actions conducted recently at both the Palestine and Sheraton Hotels by more than 750 workers are part of an IFTU organising drive in the hotel sector. The strikes at both hotels were successful in gaining wage increases and improved working conditions for the workers.
Additionally, at the Melia Masor and Babil Hotels workers have now elected Union Committees and have entered into negotiations with management there. As a result of this organising drive workers at the Babil Hotel have received a bonus payment of US $600 each and the management at the Melia Mansor Hotel agreed to pay workers a wage increase in order to put them on the same rate as workers at the Palestine and Sheraton hotels.
- Statement ends -
Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU):
c/o UNISON,
1 Mabledon Place,
London WC1H 9AJ.
Tel?: 00 44 79 76 84 68 68
Email: abdullahmuhsin@iraqitradeunions.org
Workers at the Palestine Hotel, one of the most prestigious in Baghdad's 'Green Zone' and a favourite haunt of foreign journalists have concluded successful strike action the IFTU reported today.
The action by hotel workers follows a two-day strike that won the reinstatement of 27 dismissed workers at the 'Baghdad Hotel' late last year, which was organised by the IFTU. One of the chief developments of last year's dispute was the formation of 'Union Committees' at the Baghdad and other large hotels.
Muhsin Jasim, Baghdad Regional Secretary of the Public & Social Service Workers’ Union said: "At the time that the hotel workers were dismissed, there was no union committee at the hotel, but as a result of the strike we formed a union committee. The strike didn’t only educate our members, they educated the hotel manager too."
"The strike was very difficult for the management because many Americans stay at the hotel. They were very angry and disturbed that the hotel wasn’t cleaned for 2 days. They tried to bribe us by inviting us to eat dinner with them, but we refused. In all 180 workers at the hotel took part in the strike – the entire workforce. Workers in other big hotels saw the strike and formed union committees as well."
In the latest dispute at the Palestine Hotel, the IFTU report that an agreement has been reached with the hotel management, for an immediate wage increase. However, as significant is the union's success in persuading the management to resume negotiations with the workers' Union Committee' officials for better working conditions, wages and pensions.
Message of support to Public Service Workers' Union (IFTU) from UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis:
UNISON, the UK's biggest trade union, supports the development of free and independent trade unions in Iraq. The right to take industrial action, including strike action,is an important manifestation of that right. UNISON hopes that the dispute at the Palestine Hotel can be resolved through negotiation, but should this fail we support whatever further legitimate action the Public Service Workers' Union Committee decides is necessary.
Dave Prentis
General Secretary
UNISON
The Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union of Australia comments here on reports of the IFTU-organised strike by hotel workers in two of Baghdad's top hotels:
Vital new union movement created
This strike is a reflection of the vital revival of independent trade unionism in Iraq since the fall of the Saddam regime.
Rebuilding free, democratic and independent trade unions has not been easy because worker activists are regularly killed, kidnapped and harassed by all sides in the Iraq war.
The Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) has announced that Moaid Hamed, the General Secretary of the IFTU Mosul Branch has been released.
Brother Moaid Hamed was kidnapped in Mosul February 11 2005 by gunmen while leaving his home in Mosul on union business and was taken to unknown location.
The IFTU would like to thank the international labour movement for their efforts in securing the release of brother Moaid.
IFTU
ICFTU ONLINE reports: 'Iraq – murder of oil trade unionist and wave of kidnappings mark surge in worker intimidation' 24/2/2005
Brussels, 25 February 2005 (ICFTU Online): Iraq is an increasingly dangerous place for trade unionists, said the ICFTU today as it condemned the latest murder of the Iraqi labour leader Ali Hassan Abd (Abu Fahad). The unionist, a prominent and outspoken member of the Oil and Gas union, was murdered on his way home, close to the Al Dorah Oil Refinery in Baghdad. Ali Hassan Abd was one of the first activists to organise trade unions in the oil industry, encouraging union voice in a post-Saddam Iraq as early as April 2003.
22 February 2005
400 hundred workers are staging strike action at one of Baghdad’s top hotels.
The Public Service Workers’ Union committee (an IFTU-affiliated union) in the Palestine Hotel called for Strike action on 20th February 2005 after negotiations with the hotel management for a wage increase had failed.
Negotiations have resumed between the management and the union today. The workers have said that they will continue their strike until their demands are fully met.
The IFTU supports the action of the hotel workers' union committee and stands in solidarity with the Public Service Workers' Union demands.
Workers at the nearby Sheraton 'Baghdad Hotel' have staged a successful strike recently in which they won a wage increase and better working conditions.
The Iraqi Federation of trade Unions reported today: "Railway Workers in Basra have been engaged in continuous, all-out strike action since the beginning of January 2005, resulting in the cessation of all Rail Transport from Basra. The strike began as a result of the previously reported attacks on Transport workers (see: IFTU condemns further acts of terrorism against Iraqi railway workers December 30, 2004 http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/archives/000123.html), including the recent kidnapping of 7 train drivers and the beating and harassment of others by criminals, terrorists and brigands.
The IFTU has issued a statement (29 December 2004), which:
A) condemns these criminal acts and supports the demands of the transport
workers for adequate security protection on all land transport, especially rail transport;
B) calls on the government to carry out its duty to protect workers from
attacks and to provide a safe working environment;
C) urges the government to take urgent steps to secure the immediate
release of the kidnapped workers and their safe return to their families and workplaces.
The IFTU urgently calls on all international labour movement bodies to send messages of support to the Iraqi Railway Workers' Union (via the address below) and to join the IFTU in demanding security for Transport workers.
- statement ends -
Solidarity messages to Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU):
International Representative,
c/o UNISON,
1 Mabledon Place,
London WC1H 9AJ.
Tel’: 00 44 79 76 84 68 68
Email: abdullahmuhsin@iraqitradeunions.org