2 November, 2009
Trade Unions in Iraq are faced with increasing interference and outright repression from government as they organize and increase their influence. Despite the right to organize being clearly guaranteed in the new constitution, Iraq’s government falls back on blatantly anti–union legislation, some of it dating to the Saddam era, to hamper and restrict trade union activity.
But trade unions are fighting back. On 24 October, hundreds of workers marched on the streets of Basra. Members of 12 unions gathered in front of the headquarters of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) there with banners demanding the central government stop interfering in internal workers’ issues, before marching towards the government administration building in Basra.
ICEM Executive Committee Member, Hashmeyia Saadawi
The GFIW is a Iraqi national centre of trade unions to which two ICEM-affiliated trade unions are members. Among the leaders of this demonstration was Hashmeyia Saadawi, President of the General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians (GFIW), and a member of the ICEM Executive Committee.
Slogans prominently displayed during the march demanded implementation of new ILO compliant labour law, as well as abolition of Saddam’s Law 150 of 1987, and ministerial Order 8750 of August 2005.
The immediate issue at stake in the 24 October action is the government’s attempt to form a government committee to implement workers’ elections for unions – under the old laws and without involving GFIW's executive board. This would continue to prevent workers in the public-sector from unionising, since public-sector workers are not officially allowed to join trade unions under the old legislation.
Given that both the oil and gas industry, and the electric power industry remain publicly–owned, this makes elections in those unions, as well as many others, farcical. The problems are compounded by the continued use by authorities of a controversial decree, Order 8750 of 2005, which froze all trade union assets and financial accounts, making it impossible for unions to function effectively.
On arrival at the local government offices, workers met with local officials who promised to support and pass along their demands to the central government.
But this crucial struggle will continue. The Iraqi trade union movement is about to launch a national campaign calling on the government and Parliament to implement a fair and just labour code that gives all workers, in both public and private sectors, the right to join trade unions. Once such a law is in place, then elections must be held, elections that are free from government interference.
The campaign has already attracted international attention and support. In the UK, Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary Brendan Barber has written to Foreign Secretary David Miliband asking him to press Iraq to drop its interference, and instead put in place the ILO-compliant labour code that has been drafted, allowing all workers the right to form, join, and have a say in the running of trade unions. That letter is here.
And LabourStart has begun an electronic campaign, in which workers can show their support. Join this campaign by hitting the link here.
A statement issued by the GFIW can be found here.