Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Friday, September 19
Baghdad electricity workers rally
Thousands of electricity workers took to the street on September 16, 2008 in Firdaws Square in Baghdad in a demonstration called and led by the General Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI), represented by Subhi Albadry, President of GFWCUI, and the Labor Movement Unifying Bureau, represented by Hassan Jumaa, president.
This event came as a result of the current situations as regards infrastructure (electricity that is given to people about one hour a day in particular). The workers came from different parts of Iraq to denounce the government's performance, especially that of the minister of electricity; the corruption and the neglect of this sector and its employees by the current government; as well as the banning of freedom of association.
Although the security forces were surrounding the area where the event took place, and prevented many other workers from joining the rally, the participants were able to voice their demands that were:
1. The dismissal of the Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid and his inner-circle
2. Bringing all corrupt officials and employees to justice
3. Hiring professional staff who are immune from sectarianism
4. The return of the political prisoners to their jobs
5. Giving the workers who are on contract a permanent position.
The Labor Movement Unifying Bureau consists of General Union of Oil Workers, General Union of Electricity Workers, the Union of Rail Workers and GFWCUI. It was formed in 2007, headed by Hassan Jumaa and his vice president Abuwatan, as a step towards unifying as many unions as possible to form a confederation that include all workers in Iraq.
This event came as a result of the current situations as regards infrastructure (electricity that is given to people about one hour a day in particular). The workers came from different parts of Iraq to denounce the government's performance, especially that of the minister of electricity; the corruption and the neglect of this sector and its employees by the current government; as well as the banning of freedom of association.
Although the security forces were surrounding the area where the event took place, and prevented many other workers from joining the rally, the participants were able to voice their demands that were:
1. The dismissal of the Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid and his inner-circle
2. Bringing all corrupt officials and employees to justice
3. Hiring professional staff who are immune from sectarianism
4. The return of the political prisoners to their jobs
5. Giving the workers who are on contract a permanent position.
The Labor Movement Unifying Bureau consists of General Union of Oil Workers, General Union of Electricity Workers, the Union of Rail Workers and GFWCUI. It was formed in 2007, headed by Hassan Jumaa and his vice president Abuwatan, as a step towards unifying as many unions as possible to form a confederation that include all workers in Iraq.
Monday, June 2
Iraqi oil union under attack
The Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein Al-Shahirstani, has ordered the transfer
of eight Oil Union activists. They used to work at the oil refineries in
the south. This act reflects the minister's anti-union policy, and lack
of respect for unions and union activists in the oil sector. Those
activists, through their hard work, are well known for fighting
corruption and corrupt-ministry gangs in the oil sector.
They have been transferred to Baghdad Al-Dorah neighborhood (known for
worsening security situation, and high level of sectarian killings). In
the context of Iraqi security situation, such a transfer is rightfully
regarded as human rights crime.
We call upon all people of good will in the world to take a stand to
denounce these despicable and criminal acts by the Iraqi Oil Ministry
against trade unions and their activists. The trade unions have been
reestablished and revitalized through the hard work of union activists
without any protection from the state, which keeps bragging about
democracy. [The Maliki government, taking its lead from the U.S.
Occupation Authority, continues to enforce the 1987 Saddam Hussein labor
code that prohibits unions and bargaining for workers in the oil sector
and all other public enterprises, which constitute 80% of all Iraqi jobs.]
This act is a clear evidence that the Iraqi state seeks to liquidate
trade unions in this important Iraqi economic sector, oil. It is
important to note that the south is the main source of oil in Iraq. The
oil sector there employs more than 39,000 workers. The Iraqi state has
no intention of allowing an Oil Trade Union in that sector because it
represents a threat to its authority.
We call upon you from all parts of the world to stand with us, for the
sake of labour and workers interests.
Respectfully,
Hassan Juma'a Awad, President
Iraq Federation of Oil Unions
of eight Oil Union activists. They used to work at the oil refineries in
the south. This act reflects the minister's anti-union policy, and lack
of respect for unions and union activists in the oil sector. Those
activists, through their hard work, are well known for fighting
corruption and corrupt-ministry gangs in the oil sector.
They have been transferred to Baghdad Al-Dorah neighborhood (known for
worsening security situation, and high level of sectarian killings). In
the context of Iraqi security situation, such a transfer is rightfully
regarded as human rights crime.
We call upon all people of good will in the world to take a stand to
denounce these despicable and criminal acts by the Iraqi Oil Ministry
against trade unions and their activists. The trade unions have been
reestablished and revitalized through the hard work of union activists
without any protection from the state, which keeps bragging about
democracy. [The Maliki government, taking its lead from the U.S.
Occupation Authority, continues to enforce the 1987 Saddam Hussein labor
code that prohibits unions and bargaining for workers in the oil sector
and all other public enterprises, which constitute 80% of all Iraqi jobs.]
This act is a clear evidence that the Iraqi state seeks to liquidate
trade unions in this important Iraqi economic sector, oil. It is
important to note that the south is the main source of oil in Iraq. The
oil sector there employs more than 39,000 workers. The Iraqi state has
no intention of allowing an Oil Trade Union in that sector because it
represents a threat to its authority.
We call upon you from all parts of the world to stand with us, for the
sake of labour and workers interests.
Respectfully,
Hassan Juma'a Awad, President
Iraq Federation of Oil Unions
Monday, May 12
Iraqi port workers' message of solidarity with West Coast dockers
On May 1st port workers in Umm Qasr staged a strike against the occupation of Iraq in unison with dock workers in the United States. Here is their solidarity statement:
From: The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq
To: The International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the United States
Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in California:
The courageous decision you made to carry out a strike on May Day to protest against the war and occupation of Iraq advances our struggle against occupation to bring a better future for us and for the rest of the world as well.
We are certain that a better world will only be created by the workers and what you are doing is an example and proof of what we say. The labor movement is the only element in the society that is able to change the political equations for the benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are looking up to you and support you until the victory over the US administration's barbarism is achieved.
Over the past five years the sectarian gangs who are the product of the occupation, have been trying to transfer their conflicts into our ranks. Targeting workers, including their residential and shopping areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of explosive devices, mortar shells, and random shooting, were part of a bigger scheme that was aiming to tear up the society but they miserably failed to achieve their hellish goal. We are struggling today to defeat both the occupation and sectarian militias' agenda.
The pro-occupation government has been attempting to intervene into the workers affairs by imposing a single government-certified labor union. Furthermore it has been promoting privatization and an oil and gas law to use the occupation against the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our interests are inseparable from the interests of workers in Iraq and the world; therefore we are determined to continue our struggle to improve the living conditions of the workers and overpower all plots of the occupation, its economic and political projects.
Let us hold hands for the victory of our struggle.
Long live the port workers in California!
Long live May Day!
Long live International solidarity!
The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq, an affiliate of the General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI)
From: The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq
To: The International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the United States
Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in California:
The courageous decision you made to carry out a strike on May Day to protest against the war and occupation of Iraq advances our struggle against occupation to bring a better future for us and for the rest of the world as well.
We are certain that a better world will only be created by the workers and what you are doing is an example and proof of what we say. The labor movement is the only element in the society that is able to change the political equations for the benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are looking up to you and support you until the victory over the US administration's barbarism is achieved.
Over the past five years the sectarian gangs who are the product of the occupation, have been trying to transfer their conflicts into our ranks. Targeting workers, including their residential and shopping areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of explosive devices, mortar shells, and random shooting, were part of a bigger scheme that was aiming to tear up the society but they miserably failed to achieve their hellish goal. We are struggling today to defeat both the occupation and sectarian militias' agenda.
The pro-occupation government has been attempting to intervene into the workers affairs by imposing a single government-certified labor union. Furthermore it has been promoting privatization and an oil and gas law to use the occupation against the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our interests are inseparable from the interests of workers in Iraq and the world; therefore we are determined to continue our struggle to improve the living conditions of the workers and overpower all plots of the occupation, its economic and political projects.
Let us hold hands for the victory of our struggle.
Long live the port workers in California!
Long live May Day!
Long live International solidarity!
The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq, an affiliate of the General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI)
Thursday, May 8
May Day 2008 Statement from the Iraqi Labour Movement To the Workers and All Peace Loving People of the World
On this day of international labour solidarity we call on our fellow trade unionists and all those worldwide who have stood against war and occupation to increase support for our struggle for freedom from occupation - both the military and economic.
We call upon the governments, corporations and institutions behind the ongoing occupation of Iraq to respond to our demands for real democracy, true sovereignty and self-determination free of all foreign interference.
Five years of invasion, war and occupation have brought nothing but death, destruction, misery and suffering to our people. In the name of our “liberation,” the invaders have destroyed our nation’s infrastructure, bombed our neighbourhoods, broken into our homes, traumatized our children, assaulted and arrested many of our family members and neighbours, permitted the looting of our national treasures, and turned nearly twenty percent of our people into refugees.
The invaders helped to foment and then exploit sectarian divisions and terror attacks where there had been none. Our union offices have been raided. Union property has been seized and destroyed. Our bank accounts have been frozen. Our leaders have been beaten, arrested, abducted and assassinated. Our rights as workers have been routinely violated.
The Ba’athist legislation of 1987, which banned trade unions in the public sector and public enterprises (80% of all workers), is still in effect, enforced by Paul Bremer’s post-invasion Occupation Authority and then by all subsequent Iraqi administrations. This is an attack on our rights and basic precepts of a democratic society, and is a grim reminder of the shadow of dictatorship still stalking our country.
Despite the horrific conditions in our country, we continue to organise and protest against the occupation, against workplaces abuses, and for better treatment and safer conditions.
Despite the sectarian plots around us, we believe in unity and solidarity and a common aim of public service, equality, and freedom to organise without external intrusions and coercion.
Our legitimacy comes from our members. Our principles of organisation are based on transparent and internationally recognised International Labour Organisation standards.
We call upon our allies and all the world’s peace-loving peoples to help us to end the nightmare of occupation and restore our sovereignty and national independence so that we can chart our own course to the future.
1) We demand an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from our country, and utterly reject the agreement being negotiated with the USA for long-term bases and a military presence. The continued occupation fuels the violence in Iraq rather than alleviating it. Iraq must be returned to full sovereignty.
2) We demand the passage of a labour law promised by our Constitution, which adheres to ILO principles and on which Iraqi trade unionists have been fully consulted, to protect the rights of workers to organize, bargain and strike, independent of state control and interference.
3) We demand an end to meddling in our sovereign economic affairs by the International Monetary Fund, USA and UK. We demand withdrawal of all economic conditionalities attached to the IMF’s agreements with Iraq, removal of US and UK economic “advisers” from the corridors of Iraqi government, and a recognition by those bodies that no major economic decisions concerning our services and resources can be made while foreign troops occupy the country.
4) We demand that the US government and others immediately cease lobbying for the oil law, which would fracture the country and hand control over our oil to multinational companies like Exxon, BP and Shell. We demand that all oil companies be prevented from entering into any long-term agreement concerning oil while Iraq remains occupied. We demand that the Iraqi government tear up the current draft of the oil law, and begin to develop a legitimate oil policy based on full and genuine consultation with the Iraqi people. Only after all occupation forces are gone should a long term plan for the development of our oil resources be adopted.
We seek your support and solidarity to help us end the military and economic occupation of our country. We ask for your solidarity for our right to organise and strike in defence of our interests as workers and of our public services and resources. Our public services are the legacy of generations before us and the inheritance of all future generations and must not be privatised.
We thank you for standing by us. We too stand with you in your own struggles for real democracy which we know you also struggle for, and against privatisation, exploitation and daily disempowerment in your workplaces and lives.
We commend those of you who have organised strikes and demonstrations to end the occupation in solidarity with us and we hope these actions will continue.
We look forward to the day when we have a world based on co-operation and solidarity. We look forward to a world free from war, sectarianism, competition and exploitation.
Endorsed by:
Hassan Juma’a Awad, President, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Falah Alwan, President, Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI)
Subhi Albadri, President, General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI)
Nathim Rathi, President, Iraqi Port Workers Trade Union
Samir Almuawi, President, Engineering Professionals Trade Union
Ghzi Mushatat, President, Mechanic and Print Shop Trade Union
Waleed Alamiri, President, Electricity Trade Union
Ilham Talabani, President, Banking Services Trade Union
Abdullah Ubaid, President, Railway Trade Union
Ammar Ali, President, Transportation Trade Union
Abdalzahra Abdilhassan, President, Service Employees Trade Union
Sundus Sabeeh, President, Barber Shop Workers Trade Union
Kareem Lefta Sindan, President, Lumber and Construction Trade Union, General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW)
Sabah Almusawi, President, Wasit Independent Trade Union
Shakir Hameed, President, Lumber And Construction Trade Union (GFWCUI)
Awad Ahmed, President, Teachers Federation of Salahideen
Alaa Ghazi Mushatat, President, Agricultural And Food Substance Industries
Adnan Rathi Shakir, President, Water Resources Trade Union
Nahrawan Yas, President, Woman Affairs Bureau
Sabah Alyasiri, President (GFWCUI) Babil
Ali Tahi, President (GFWCUI) Najaf
Ali Abbas, President (GFWCUI) Basra
Muhi Abdalhussien, President (GFWCUI), Wasit
Ali Hashim Abdilhussien, President (GFWCUI) Kerbala
Ali Hussien, President (GFWCUI) Anbar
Mustafa Ameen, Arab Workers Bureau, President (GFWCUI)
Thameer Mzeail, Health Services, Union Committee
Khadija Saeed Abdullah, Teachers Federation, Member
Asmahan, Khudair, Woman Affairs, Textile Trade Unions
Adil Aljabiri, Oil Workers Trade Union Executive Bureau Member
Muhi Abdalhussien, Nadia Flaih, Service Employees Trade Unions
Rawneq Mohammed, Member, Media and Print Shop Trade Union
Abdlakareem Abdalsada, Vice President (GFWCUI)
Saeed Nima, Vice President (GFWCUI)
Sabri Abdalkareem, Member, (GFWCUI) Babil
Amjad Aljawhary, Representative of GFWCUI in North America
May Day Message from the General Union of Dock Workers in Iraq to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the United States
Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in California,
The courageous decision you made to carry out a strike on May Day to protest against the war and occupation of Iraq advances our struggle against occupation to bring a better future for us and for the rest of the world as well.
We are certain that a better world will only be created by the workers and what you are doing is an example and proof of what we say. The labor movement is the only element in the society that is able to change the political equations for the benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are looking up to you and support you until the victory over the US administration’s barbarism is achieved.
Over the past five years the sectarian gangs who are the product of the occupation, have been trying to transfer their conflicts into our ranks. Targeting workers, including their residential and shopping areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of explosive devices, mortar shells, and random shooting, were part of a bigger scheme that was aiming to tear up the society but they miserably failed to achieve their hellish goal. We are struggling today to defeat both the occupation and sectarian militias’ agenda.
The pro-occupation government has been attempting to intervene into the workers affairs by imposing a single government-certified labor union. Furthermore it has been promoting privatization and an oil and gas law to use the occupation against the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our interests are inseparable from the interests of workers in Iraq and the world; therefore we are determined to continue our struggle to improve the living conditions of the workers and overpower all plots of the occupation, its economic and political projects.
Let us hold hands for the victory of our struggle.
Long live the port workers in California!
Long live May Day!
Long live International solidarity!
The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq
An Affiliate Union with General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI)
We call upon the governments, corporations and institutions behind the ongoing occupation of Iraq to respond to our demands for real democracy, true sovereignty and self-determination free of all foreign interference.
Five years of invasion, war and occupation have brought nothing but death, destruction, misery and suffering to our people. In the name of our “liberation,” the invaders have destroyed our nation’s infrastructure, bombed our neighbourhoods, broken into our homes, traumatized our children, assaulted and arrested many of our family members and neighbours, permitted the looting of our national treasures, and turned nearly twenty percent of our people into refugees.
The invaders helped to foment and then exploit sectarian divisions and terror attacks where there had been none. Our union offices have been raided. Union property has been seized and destroyed. Our bank accounts have been frozen. Our leaders have been beaten, arrested, abducted and assassinated. Our rights as workers have been routinely violated.
The Ba’athist legislation of 1987, which banned trade unions in the public sector and public enterprises (80% of all workers), is still in effect, enforced by Paul Bremer’s post-invasion Occupation Authority and then by all subsequent Iraqi administrations. This is an attack on our rights and basic precepts of a democratic society, and is a grim reminder of the shadow of dictatorship still stalking our country.
Despite the horrific conditions in our country, we continue to organise and protest against the occupation, against workplaces abuses, and for better treatment and safer conditions.
Despite the sectarian plots around us, we believe in unity and solidarity and a common aim of public service, equality, and freedom to organise without external intrusions and coercion.
Our legitimacy comes from our members. Our principles of organisation are based on transparent and internationally recognised International Labour Organisation standards.
We call upon our allies and all the world’s peace-loving peoples to help us to end the nightmare of occupation and restore our sovereignty and national independence so that we can chart our own course to the future.
1) We demand an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from our country, and utterly reject the agreement being negotiated with the USA for long-term bases and a military presence. The continued occupation fuels the violence in Iraq rather than alleviating it. Iraq must be returned to full sovereignty.
2) We demand the passage of a labour law promised by our Constitution, which adheres to ILO principles and on which Iraqi trade unionists have been fully consulted, to protect the rights of workers to organize, bargain and strike, independent of state control and interference.
3) We demand an end to meddling in our sovereign economic affairs by the International Monetary Fund, USA and UK. We demand withdrawal of all economic conditionalities attached to the IMF’s agreements with Iraq, removal of US and UK economic “advisers” from the corridors of Iraqi government, and a recognition by those bodies that no major economic decisions concerning our services and resources can be made while foreign troops occupy the country.
4) We demand that the US government and others immediately cease lobbying for the oil law, which would fracture the country and hand control over our oil to multinational companies like Exxon, BP and Shell. We demand that all oil companies be prevented from entering into any long-term agreement concerning oil while Iraq remains occupied. We demand that the Iraqi government tear up the current draft of the oil law, and begin to develop a legitimate oil policy based on full and genuine consultation with the Iraqi people. Only after all occupation forces are gone should a long term plan for the development of our oil resources be adopted.
We seek your support and solidarity to help us end the military and economic occupation of our country. We ask for your solidarity for our right to organise and strike in defence of our interests as workers and of our public services and resources. Our public services are the legacy of generations before us and the inheritance of all future generations and must not be privatised.
We thank you for standing by us. We too stand with you in your own struggles for real democracy which we know you also struggle for, and against privatisation, exploitation and daily disempowerment in your workplaces and lives.
We commend those of you who have organised strikes and demonstrations to end the occupation in solidarity with us and we hope these actions will continue.
We look forward to the day when we have a world based on co-operation and solidarity. We look forward to a world free from war, sectarianism, competition and exploitation.
Endorsed by:
Hassan Juma’a Awad, President, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Falah Alwan, President, Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI)
Subhi Albadri, President, General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI)
Nathim Rathi, President, Iraqi Port Workers Trade Union
Samir Almuawi, President, Engineering Professionals Trade Union
Ghzi Mushatat, President, Mechanic and Print Shop Trade Union
Waleed Alamiri, President, Electricity Trade Union
Ilham Talabani, President, Banking Services Trade Union
Abdullah Ubaid, President, Railway Trade Union
Ammar Ali, President, Transportation Trade Union
Abdalzahra Abdilhassan, President, Service Employees Trade Union
Sundus Sabeeh, President, Barber Shop Workers Trade Union
Kareem Lefta Sindan, President, Lumber and Construction Trade Union, General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW)
Sabah Almusawi, President, Wasit Independent Trade Union
Shakir Hameed, President, Lumber And Construction Trade Union (GFWCUI)
Awad Ahmed, President, Teachers Federation of Salahideen
Alaa Ghazi Mushatat, President, Agricultural And Food Substance Industries
Adnan Rathi Shakir, President, Water Resources Trade Union
Nahrawan Yas, President, Woman Affairs Bureau
Sabah Alyasiri, President (GFWCUI) Babil
Ali Tahi, President (GFWCUI) Najaf
Ali Abbas, President (GFWCUI) Basra
Muhi Abdalhussien, President (GFWCUI), Wasit
Ali Hashim Abdilhussien, President (GFWCUI) Kerbala
Ali Hussien, President (GFWCUI) Anbar
Mustafa Ameen, Arab Workers Bureau, President (GFWCUI)
Thameer Mzeail, Health Services, Union Committee
Khadija Saeed Abdullah, Teachers Federation, Member
Asmahan, Khudair, Woman Affairs, Textile Trade Unions
Adil Aljabiri, Oil Workers Trade Union Executive Bureau Member
Muhi Abdalhussien, Nadia Flaih, Service Employees Trade Unions
Rawneq Mohammed, Member, Media and Print Shop Trade Union
Abdlakareem Abdalsada, Vice President (GFWCUI)
Saeed Nima, Vice President (GFWCUI)
Sabri Abdalkareem, Member, (GFWCUI) Babil
Amjad Aljawhary, Representative of GFWCUI in North America
May Day Message from the General Union of Dock Workers in Iraq to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the United States
Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in California,
The courageous decision you made to carry out a strike on May Day to protest against the war and occupation of Iraq advances our struggle against occupation to bring a better future for us and for the rest of the world as well.
We are certain that a better world will only be created by the workers and what you are doing is an example and proof of what we say. The labor movement is the only element in the society that is able to change the political equations for the benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are looking up to you and support you until the victory over the US administration’s barbarism is achieved.
Over the past five years the sectarian gangs who are the product of the occupation, have been trying to transfer their conflicts into our ranks. Targeting workers, including their residential and shopping areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of explosive devices, mortar shells, and random shooting, were part of a bigger scheme that was aiming to tear up the society but they miserably failed to achieve their hellish goal. We are struggling today to defeat both the occupation and sectarian militias’ agenda.
The pro-occupation government has been attempting to intervene into the workers affairs by imposing a single government-certified labor union. Furthermore it has been promoting privatization and an oil and gas law to use the occupation against the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our interests are inseparable from the interests of workers in Iraq and the world; therefore we are determined to continue our struggle to improve the living conditions of the workers and overpower all plots of the occupation, its economic and political projects.
Let us hold hands for the victory of our struggle.
Long live the port workers in California!
Long live May Day!
Long live International solidarity!
The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq
An Affiliate Union with General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI)
Thursday, May 1
Dockers' solidarity strikes in USA and Iraq
Members of the Port Workers Union of Iraq plan to shutdown the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Alzubair for one hour on May Day in solidarity with the shutdown of all West Coast ports by members of ILWU in opposition to the occupation of Iraq.
Thursday, April 10
Stop deportations to Iraq
Dashty Jamal of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR):
“On 27 March 2008 the British government forcibly deported 60 Kurdish asylum seekers back to Hawler (Arbil, in Kurdistan/Iraq - JD) airport…By forcibly deporting the Iraqi asylum seekers the UK Home Office turned a blind eye to humanitarian principle and human rights laws. The asylum seekers arrived at Arbil airport at 3am in the morning. When they landed they were confused, tired and did not know where they had landed. When they refused to leave the plane the Home Office guards called the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) guards. Approximately twenty five KRG guards with guns boarded the plane. They pushed and threatened the asylum seekers off the plane and onto two waiting coaches. from the airport they were transported to Ain Kawa bridge (Ain Kawa is a small place near Arbil). They were left under the bridge, many of them injured and all having lost their luggage ane mobile phones.
“The asylum seekers who are victims of war now face severe problems and dangers in Iraq. The deportation may also encourage other European countries to take similar action.
“We call on individuals and organisations who are fighting for freedom and human rights to condemn forcible deportation of Iraqi asylum seekers and join our protest.”
Incidentally, some of those the Home Office tried to deport that day were not put on the flight and returned to various detention centres. They are still facing removal.
Inquiries/further information:
Dashty Jamal, International Federation of of Iraqi Refugees: d.jamal@ntlworld.com ; tel: 07856032991
IFIR and the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq are planning ameeting in Parliament hosted by John McDonnell on Tuesday 29 April. For details contact Dashty, or Karen Johnson karen8johnson@btinternet.com ; tel: 078 0489 1082.
Lobby of the Home Office (Marsham Street, SW1P 4DF) from 12 to 2pm, Friday 11 April called by the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq and the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR).
“On 27 March 2008 the British government forcibly deported 60 Kurdish asylum seekers back to Hawler (Arbil, in Kurdistan/Iraq - JD) airport…By forcibly deporting the Iraqi asylum seekers the UK Home Office turned a blind eye to humanitarian principle and human rights laws. The asylum seekers arrived at Arbil airport at 3am in the morning. When they landed they were confused, tired and did not know where they had landed. When they refused to leave the plane the Home Office guards called the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) guards. Approximately twenty five KRG guards with guns boarded the plane. They pushed and threatened the asylum seekers off the plane and onto two waiting coaches. from the airport they were transported to Ain Kawa bridge (Ain Kawa is a small place near Arbil). They were left under the bridge, many of them injured and all having lost their luggage ane mobile phones.
“The asylum seekers who are victims of war now face severe problems and dangers in Iraq. The deportation may also encourage other European countries to take similar action.
“We call on individuals and organisations who are fighting for freedom and human rights to condemn forcible deportation of Iraqi asylum seekers and join our protest.”
Incidentally, some of those the Home Office tried to deport that day were not put on the flight and returned to various detention centres. They are still facing removal.
Inquiries/further information:
Dashty Jamal, International Federation of of Iraqi Refugees: d.jamal@ntlworld.com ; tel: 07856032991
IFIR and the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq are planning ameeting in Parliament hosted by John McDonnell on Tuesday 29 April. For details contact Dashty, or Karen Johnson karen8johnson@btinternet.com ; tel: 078 0489 1082.
Lobby of the Home Office (Marsham Street, SW1P 4DF) from 12 to 2pm, Friday 11 April called by the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq and the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR).
Friday, March 14
Basra electricity workers' demo
From SB News
Demonstrations and sit-ins of electricity workers in the Euphrates East, Basra and Kut
The electricity Workers in many locations had organized series of protest rallies, on Monday morning 4-2-2008 after giving a warning to the Ministry of electricity in case their demands were not met.
The workers in the electricity sector had compiled a petition including their demands and threatened to organize Sit- in case of non-implementation of their demands, which focused on:
• Fighting corruption in the organs of the Ministry of Electricity
• Establish power stations to provide electricity throughout the country
• Build homes or buildings housing for workers electricity sector.
• To pay compensation on the basis of risk as a 75% percent of the salary
• Changing the employing system of the daily workers wages to the workers labor contracts
• Appointment System contract workers working on the permanent staffing
When the ministry did not respond to the workers' demands, thousands of workers from Basra, Musayyib and Hilla and Kut, started their sit in, which appealed by the union of the engineering jobs & technicians with FWCUI, Which is widely participated in demonstrations in Basra and Masayab where collected Electricity Workers Union.
Tuesday, March 11
New report about women in Iraq
Here is a link to a new report about the situation of women in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, confronted as they are by increased violence and fundamentalist oppression as well as violence perpetrated by occupation troops.
Saturday, March 8
"workers in struggle" issue one
The first issue of the Middle East Workers' Solidarity newsletter Workers in Struggle has been produced.
It features articles on the strike wave in Egypt, the imprisonment of trade unionists and student activists in Iran, the plan of US dockers to strike against the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Israeli assault on Gaza and other short news pieces about strikes in the Middle East.
We will be handing this out at the March 15th Stop the War demo as well as the March 8th Palestine protest at Downing Street.
Click here for the pdf file
It features articles on the strike wave in Egypt, the imprisonment of trade unionists and student activists in Iran, the plan of US dockers to strike against the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Israeli assault on Gaza and other short news pieces about strikes in the Middle East.
We will be handing this out at the March 15th Stop the War demo as well as the March 8th Palestine protest at Downing Street.
Click here for the pdf file
Friday, March 7
News in brief
►iraq – The leader of Iraq's journalists' union, Shihab al-Tamimi, has died in hospital. He was shot in the chest on February 23rd, and as a result died of heart attack. An independent journalist working for many local newspapers, al-Tamimi was a fierce critic of Iraq's sectarian militias and called for an end to the civil war. He is the 270th Iraqi journalist to have been killed in the violence since the 2003 invasion.
►jordan – 200 Vietnamese migrant workers, mostly women, struck for more than two weeks in protest at being forced to work long hours for just £50 per month, when they had been promised a rate of £100.
The footwear machinists’ strike was repressed by the Jordanian police, who sided with the security guards and joined in beating the workers. This despite the fact that the Jordanian Labour Ministry investigators had found the workers to be starving and bruised.
The workers, who were taken to Jordan by a Vietnamese agency, are demanding that they be allowed to return home.
►lebanon – Unions seem likely to force Prime Minister Siniora to grant an increase in the minimum wage. The unions are complaining that the minimum wage (on which one-third of Lebanese subsist) has been frozen for ten years, with the result that purchasing power fell 15 per cent last year. With a mounting £22 billion public debt and chronic power shortages in working-class areas, they say that Siniora is presiding over economic disaster.
►jordan – 200 Vietnamese migrant workers, mostly women, struck for more than two weeks in protest at being forced to work long hours for just £50 per month, when they had been promised a rate of £100.
The footwear machinists’ strike was repressed by the Jordanian police, who sided with the security guards and joined in beating the workers. This despite the fact that the Jordanian Labour Ministry investigators had found the workers to be starving and bruised.
The workers, who were taken to Jordan by a Vietnamese agency, are demanding that they be allowed to return home.
►lebanon – Unions seem likely to force Prime Minister Siniora to grant an increase in the minimum wage. The unions are complaining that the minimum wage (on which one-third of Lebanese subsist) has been frozen for ten years, with the result that purchasing power fell 15 per cent last year. With a mounting £22 billion public debt and chronic power shortages in working-class areas, they say that Siniora is presiding over economic disaster.
US dockers call for strike to end occupation of Iraq
A motion passed by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union conference
FOR WORKERS' ACTION TO STOP THE WAR
WHEREAS: On May 1, 2003, at the ILWU Convention in San Francisco
resolutions were passed calling for an end to the war and occupation
in Iraq; and
WHEREAS: ILWU took the lead among labor unions in opposing this bloody
war and occupation for imperial domination; and
WHEREAS: Many unions and the overwhelming majority of the American
people now oppose this bipartisan and unjustifiable war in Iraq and
Afghanistan but the two major political parties, Democrats and
Republicans continue to fund the war; and
WHEREAS: Millions worldwide have marched and demonstrated against the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but have been unable to stop the wars; and
WHEREAS: ILWU's historic dock actions,
1) like the refusal of Local 10 longshoremen to load bombs for the
military dictatorship in Chile in 1978 and military cargo to the
Salvadoran military dictatorship in 1981 and
2) the honoring of the teachers' union antiwar picket May 19, 2007
against SSA in the port of Oakland stand as a limited but shining
example of how to oppose these wars; and
WHEREAS: The spread of war in the Middle East is threatened with U. S.
air strikes in Iran or possible military intervention in Syria or the
destabilized Pakistan;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That it is time to take labor's protest to a more powerful level of
struggle by calling on unions and working people in the U. S. and
internationally to mobilize for a "No Peace No Work Holiday" May 1,
2008 for 8 hours to demand an immediate end to the war and occupation
in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U. S. troops from the
Middle East; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED:
That a clarion call from the ILWU be sent with an urgent appeal for
unity of action to the AFL-CIO, the Change to Win Coalition and all of
the international labor organizations to which we are affiliated to
bring an end to this bloody war once and for all.
Submitted by:
ILWU Local 10
passed overwhelmingly after thorough debate
If you need any further information or wish to send messages of support and solidarity please contact Bob McEllrath, International President, ILWU, 1188 Franklin Street, San Francisco, California 94109.
Tel: (+1 415) 775 0533 Fax: (+1 415) 775 1302. Email: robert.mcellrath@ilwu.org
Messages of support and solidarity should also be sent to ILWU Local 10 President Melvin Mackay
fax (+1 415) 441 0610 and/or melmackay@aol.com
Please send copies to dockers@gn.apc.org (sacked Liverpool dockers)
FOR WORKERS' ACTION TO STOP THE WAR
WHEREAS: On May 1, 2003, at the ILWU Convention in San Francisco
resolutions were passed calling for an end to the war and occupation
in Iraq; and
WHEREAS: ILWU took the lead among labor unions in opposing this bloody
war and occupation for imperial domination; and
WHEREAS: Many unions and the overwhelming majority of the American
people now oppose this bipartisan and unjustifiable war in Iraq and
Afghanistan but the two major political parties, Democrats and
Republicans continue to fund the war; and
WHEREAS: Millions worldwide have marched and demonstrated against the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but have been unable to stop the wars; and
WHEREAS: ILWU's historic dock actions,
1) like the refusal of Local 10 longshoremen to load bombs for the
military dictatorship in Chile in 1978 and military cargo to the
Salvadoran military dictatorship in 1981 and
2) the honoring of the teachers' union antiwar picket May 19, 2007
against SSA in the port of Oakland stand as a limited but shining
example of how to oppose these wars; and
WHEREAS: The spread of war in the Middle East is threatened with U. S.
air strikes in Iran or possible military intervention in Syria or the
destabilized Pakistan;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That it is time to take labor's protest to a more powerful level of
struggle by calling on unions and working people in the U. S. and
internationally to mobilize for a "No Peace No Work Holiday" May 1,
2008 for 8 hours to demand an immediate end to the war and occupation
in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U. S. troops from the
Middle East; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED:
That a clarion call from the ILWU be sent with an urgent appeal for
unity of action to the AFL-CIO, the Change to Win Coalition and all of
the international labor organizations to which we are affiliated to
bring an end to this bloody war once and for all.
Submitted by:
ILWU Local 10
passed overwhelmingly after thorough debate
If you need any further information or wish to send messages of support and solidarity please contact Bob McEllrath, International President, ILWU, 1188 Franklin Street, San Francisco, California 94109.
Tel: (+1 415) 775 0533 Fax: (+1 415) 775 1302. Email: robert.mcellrath@ilwu.org
Messages of support and solidarity should also be sent to ILWU Local 10 President Melvin Mackay
fax (+1 415) 441 0610 and/or melmackay@aol.com
Please send copies to dockers@gn.apc.org (sacked Liverpool dockers)
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