In June 28, 2005 the policemen in Samawa city, 200 miles to the south of Baghdad open fire on unemployed demonstrators who demanded job opportunities mostly in the police sector in the city. The city that witnessed a lot of protests because of the faulty city council management, and in many occasions they were protesting in every possible civil manner. The result was a death of one of the protesters after he was rushed to the hospital and injuring 8 others.
As such the current government declares its operations in impounding the rights of expression and demonstration and reproducing despotism by taking advantage of the current security situations and marshal law.
Meanwhile the Union of Unemployed in Iraq strongly condemns these attacks that came as extensions of the human rights violations committed by the same groups who installed themselves by their militias and with the assistance of the occupying forces, we in the steering committee of the union warn the authorities that these acts will bring nothing but more anger and resentments, and will lead the relationship between the government and the people to a deadlock.
Also we would like to offer our condolences and deep sorrow to the relatives of the deceased worker, hoping for the injured workers get better soon. Furthermore we affirm that we will stand by every one demands a decent job opportunity or employment insurance.
The Steering Committee
Union of Unemployed in Iraq
June 29, 2005
Sunday, July 24
Union of Unemployed in Nasirya Is Invited As a Member of the Energy Employees Negotiation Striking Team
In July 17, 2005 the energy employees' workers went on strike despite all attempts made by the management to break the strike issuing threats to a number of workers. The trade union committee requested that the union of unemployed represented by Ahmed Salem, who is also the Federation of Worker Councils and Unions FWCUI representative, must participate in the negotiation with the authorities in the governorate of Nasirya. The union handed out his pamphlet declaring the solidarity with the strikers and asked the other industries sectors and people of Nasirya to stand by the workers, the statement that echoed widely among the workers.
The strike had turned to a mass demonstration who marched towards the city hall building protesting against the power outage. Also they demanded the manager to resign because of his involvement in corruption and the complaints were presented as:
1. Operating the station equipment illegally for the Russian Company for 8 hours a day in exchange of $70/hour in cash.
2. The lunch room that belongs to the employees of the station has been occupied by the Russian company whereas the workers were forced to have their lunch out under the burning sun with no health standards too.
3. purchasing a vehicle for about $20000 to serve the managers personal purposes
4. Purchasing some no good for use equipments because the contractor is one of the manager's relatives.
5. high expenses for very little jobs
6. Many employees suffer from the lack of housing while the station has so many housing caravans were dedicated to the employees and used by the management in spite of the management having his own building.
7. Hiring unqualified people just because they are pro-Alsadir whereas there are many qualified graduates were denied the jobs.
8. the advertisement of non existing contracts
In response the mayor requested to meet with the delegation and they reached up to an agreement stating:
1. Freezing the current manger and hiring temporarily his second in command.
2. Forming an inquiry committee to investigate all accusation made by the workers and submits its report in a week period starting from July 19, 2005.
Union of Unemployed in Nasirya
July 18, 2005
The strike had turned to a mass demonstration who marched towards the city hall building protesting against the power outage. Also they demanded the manager to resign because of his involvement in corruption and the complaints were presented as:
1. Operating the station equipment illegally for the Russian Company for 8 hours a day in exchange of $70/hour in cash.
2. The lunch room that belongs to the employees of the station has been occupied by the Russian company whereas the workers were forced to have their lunch out under the burning sun with no health standards too.
3. purchasing a vehicle for about $20000 to serve the managers personal purposes
4. Purchasing some no good for use equipments because the contractor is one of the manager's relatives.
5. high expenses for very little jobs
6. Many employees suffer from the lack of housing while the station has so many housing caravans were dedicated to the employees and used by the management in spite of the management having his own building.
7. Hiring unqualified people just because they are pro-Alsadir whereas there are many qualified graduates were denied the jobs.
8. the advertisement of non existing contracts
In response the mayor requested to meet with the delegation and they reached up to an agreement stating:
1. Freezing the current manger and hiring temporarily his second in command.
2. Forming an inquiry committee to investigate all accusation made by the workers and submits its report in a week period starting from July 19, 2005.
Union of Unemployed in Nasirya
July 18, 2005
Friday, July 22
Article from Al-Ahram weekly
The enemy of my enemy is not my friend!
For those of us living in London, the recent bombings in the British capital brought home the daily violence, the horror and fear of millions of people living in many places around the world. For the first time, it was our relatives in Iraq who anxiously called to inquire about our health and well-being, not the other way around as it has been the case for so long. Right now, Iraq must be the most acutely dangerous place in terms of both occupation forces as well as militant resistance. Yet people in many other cities around the world have to live with that daily fear: Whether in Baghdad, Ramallah, Jerusalem or Kabul, violence is a daily burden on everyone’s mind if not an actual occurrence.
Although many friends I have been politically involved with in the context of anti-sanctions and anti-war activism agree that the so-called “war on terror” can not be fought with bombs, only few seem to acknowledge that neither can we fight US imperialism with violence. This is particularly the case where most of the victims of this violence are innocent civilians. In Iraq, for example, thousands of men, women and children have been killed just because they happen to be passing by, or waiting at a petrol station, a market, a mosque, in front of a police station or a street at the wrong time. Can we call the killing of Iraqi civilians, foreign humanitarian workers (and, I would also add, diplomats) resistance? For me, the idea of these killings being a necessary if regrettable ‘by-product’ of the fight against imperialism is as twisted and perverse as the infamous statement by Madeline Albright about “a price worth paying” when speaking about the thousands of Iraqi children dying in the context of economic sanctions and the attempt to contain Saddam Hussein.
To make it very clear: in my activism and writings, I have been anti-sanctions, anti-war and anti-occupation. But being against, never meant automatically being for someone or something. That held true for the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in the past as well as for those fighters terrorizing the Iraqi population today. What I have found so disheartening and frustrating when participating in anti-war and anti-occupation events during the past months is the black and white depiction of the world and the lack of clarity where the Iraqi resistance is concerned. At the recent World Tribunal on Iraq in Istanbul, for example, almost every speaker either began or finished his or her talk with a similar statement: “We have to support the Iraqi resistance!” Many speakers added that this was not just a matter of fighting the occupation inside Iraq but part of a wider struggle against encroaching neo-colonialism, neo-liberalism and imperialism. But none of the speakers explained to the jury of conscience, the audience and their fellow speakers what they actually meant by ‘the resistance’.
No one felt it was necessary to differentiate between, on the one hand, the right of self-defence and the patriotic attempt to resist foreign occupation and, on the other, the unlawful indiscriminate killings of non-combatants. Neither did anyone question the motivations and goals of many of the numerous groups, networks, individuals and gangs grouped all too casually under ‘the resistance’ – a term that through lack of clear definition has been used to encompass various forms of non-violent political oppositions, armed resistance, terrorism and mafia-type criminality. Again by failing to explicitly define and differentiate, proponents of the unconditional support slogan end up grouping together the large part of the Iraqi population opposing US occupation and engaging in every-day forms of resistance, with remnants of the previous regime, Iraqi-based Islamist militias, foreign jihadis, mercenaries and criminals.
Views about armed resistance vary amongst the Iraqi population reflecting the diversity of Iraqi society, not simply in terms of religious and ethnic backgrounds as many commentators would like us to believe, but diversity in terms of social class, place of residence, specific experiences with the previous regime and the ongoing occupation as well as political orientation. However, based on talks with friends and family inside as well as various opinion polls, I would argue that the majority of Iraqis do not translate their opposition to the occupation into support for militant insurgents killing Iraqis. I also find it hard to believe that the majority of Iraqis would actually support the kidnapping, torturing and killing of foreign workers whatever their occupation.
Ironically it is the lack of security on the streets of Iraqi cities today that persuades many people, who in principle want US and British forces out of their country, not to ask for an immediate withdrawal. Obviously the lack of security is an effect of the recent war and the ongoing occupation. The latter is without doubt a brutal continuation of an illegal war, having already killed and maimed thousands of civilians through numerous conventional and unconventional weapons. US and UK troops have been involved in the systematic torture of prisoners as well as other violations of international human rights conventions and humanitarian law. But the fact is that when an Iraqi leaves his or her house in the morning wondering whether he or she will see their loved ones again, it could either be a sniper or bomb from the occupation forces or a suicide bomb that could kill them. To abuse an old cliché, Iraqis are caught between many rocks and many hard places.
The culture of violence and the underlying fascist ideology of many of the groups operating on Iraqi soil today is not a viable alternative to US imperialism. While we all know that Bush is not about freedom and democracy, please let’s stop calling local and foreign suicide bombers “freedom fighters”. I am not sure how long most of those unconditionally supporting the resistance today would last inside Iraq if the militant insurgents responsible for killing and kidnapping Iraqi civilians and foreigners would actually prevail.
There is no doubt that the previous Coalition Provisional Authority and the various transitional governments have lacked credibility amongst the majority of the Iraqi population. Reconstruction has been incredibly slow and fraught with corruption and ill-management. Yet, the seeds for genuine political transformation, the rebuilding of physical and political spaces and a non-violent opposition to foreign occupation have been made more and more impossible by the increasing violence and instability caused by the insurgence. And there are non-violent ways of resisting: continuous images of hundred-thousands even millions of Iraqis - men, women and children of all ages and backgrounds - demonstrating peacefully on the streets of Iraq would send a very forceful message across the world: a message that could not be ignored by Washington and London, especially if Iraqis are joined by people all over the world taking to the streets in solidarity.
At the same time Iraqis, lobbying their own government - as flawed as the process of election was – through civil society associations, city councils and various other institutions, can resist foreign encroachment and the imposition of outside political actors, values and economic systems. Iraqis at the grassroots level did start to group together, mobilize and resist non-violently, and they continue to do so. Women activists have been at the forefront of these actions and initiatives. Yet, the political spaces have been shrinking not simply as a function of ongoing occupation and the type of government in place, but also, and crucially, because of the lack of security caused by violent insurgents.
For those of us concerned about the erosion of women’s rights inside Iraq, Islamist militants pose a particular danger. Many women’s organisations and activists inside Iraq have documented the increasing attacks on women, the pressure to conform to certain dress codes, the restrictions in movement and behaviour, incidents of acid thrown into women’s faces… and even killings. It is extremely short-sighted for anyone not to condemn these types of attacks, but for women this becomes existential. Women and ‘women’s issues’ have, of course, been instrumentalized - in Afghanistan, but also in Iraq. We know that both Bush and Blair have tried to co-opt the language of democracy and human rights, especially women’s rights. But them instrumentalizing women does not mean that we should condone or accept the way Islamist militants are, for their part, using women symbolically and attacking them physically to express their resistance.
It is high time to be much clearer about what we should support and what not. It is high time to abandon the unconditional support for terrorists and criminals responsible for the killing of Iraqi civilians. It is high time to acknowledge that Iraqis inside are divided along many different lines and that glossing over these differences does not help national unity in the long run. It is high time to seriously look for non-violent means of resistance to the occupation in Iraq and wider US imperialism. It is high time to recognize that the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend…
(Dr Nadje Al-Ali is senior lecturer in social anthropology at the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. She is a founding member of Act Together: Women’s Action on Iraq, and a member of Women in Black, London.)
For those of us living in London, the recent bombings in the British capital brought home the daily violence, the horror and fear of millions of people living in many places around the world. For the first time, it was our relatives in Iraq who anxiously called to inquire about our health and well-being, not the other way around as it has been the case for so long. Right now, Iraq must be the most acutely dangerous place in terms of both occupation forces as well as militant resistance. Yet people in many other cities around the world have to live with that daily fear: Whether in Baghdad, Ramallah, Jerusalem or Kabul, violence is a daily burden on everyone’s mind if not an actual occurrence.
Although many friends I have been politically involved with in the context of anti-sanctions and anti-war activism agree that the so-called “war on terror” can not be fought with bombs, only few seem to acknowledge that neither can we fight US imperialism with violence. This is particularly the case where most of the victims of this violence are innocent civilians. In Iraq, for example, thousands of men, women and children have been killed just because they happen to be passing by, or waiting at a petrol station, a market, a mosque, in front of a police station or a street at the wrong time. Can we call the killing of Iraqi civilians, foreign humanitarian workers (and, I would also add, diplomats) resistance? For me, the idea of these killings being a necessary if regrettable ‘by-product’ of the fight against imperialism is as twisted and perverse as the infamous statement by Madeline Albright about “a price worth paying” when speaking about the thousands of Iraqi children dying in the context of economic sanctions and the attempt to contain Saddam Hussein.
To make it very clear: in my activism and writings, I have been anti-sanctions, anti-war and anti-occupation. But being against, never meant automatically being for someone or something. That held true for the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in the past as well as for those fighters terrorizing the Iraqi population today. What I have found so disheartening and frustrating when participating in anti-war and anti-occupation events during the past months is the black and white depiction of the world and the lack of clarity where the Iraqi resistance is concerned. At the recent World Tribunal on Iraq in Istanbul, for example, almost every speaker either began or finished his or her talk with a similar statement: “We have to support the Iraqi resistance!” Many speakers added that this was not just a matter of fighting the occupation inside Iraq but part of a wider struggle against encroaching neo-colonialism, neo-liberalism and imperialism. But none of the speakers explained to the jury of conscience, the audience and their fellow speakers what they actually meant by ‘the resistance’.
No one felt it was necessary to differentiate between, on the one hand, the right of self-defence and the patriotic attempt to resist foreign occupation and, on the other, the unlawful indiscriminate killings of non-combatants. Neither did anyone question the motivations and goals of many of the numerous groups, networks, individuals and gangs grouped all too casually under ‘the resistance’ – a term that through lack of clear definition has been used to encompass various forms of non-violent political oppositions, armed resistance, terrorism and mafia-type criminality. Again by failing to explicitly define and differentiate, proponents of the unconditional support slogan end up grouping together the large part of the Iraqi population opposing US occupation and engaging in every-day forms of resistance, with remnants of the previous regime, Iraqi-based Islamist militias, foreign jihadis, mercenaries and criminals.
Views about armed resistance vary amongst the Iraqi population reflecting the diversity of Iraqi society, not simply in terms of religious and ethnic backgrounds as many commentators would like us to believe, but diversity in terms of social class, place of residence, specific experiences with the previous regime and the ongoing occupation as well as political orientation. However, based on talks with friends and family inside as well as various opinion polls, I would argue that the majority of Iraqis do not translate their opposition to the occupation into support for militant insurgents killing Iraqis. I also find it hard to believe that the majority of Iraqis would actually support the kidnapping, torturing and killing of foreign workers whatever their occupation.
Ironically it is the lack of security on the streets of Iraqi cities today that persuades many people, who in principle want US and British forces out of their country, not to ask for an immediate withdrawal. Obviously the lack of security is an effect of the recent war and the ongoing occupation. The latter is without doubt a brutal continuation of an illegal war, having already killed and maimed thousands of civilians through numerous conventional and unconventional weapons. US and UK troops have been involved in the systematic torture of prisoners as well as other violations of international human rights conventions and humanitarian law. But the fact is that when an Iraqi leaves his or her house in the morning wondering whether he or she will see their loved ones again, it could either be a sniper or bomb from the occupation forces or a suicide bomb that could kill them. To abuse an old cliché, Iraqis are caught between many rocks and many hard places.
The culture of violence and the underlying fascist ideology of many of the groups operating on Iraqi soil today is not a viable alternative to US imperialism. While we all know that Bush is not about freedom and democracy, please let’s stop calling local and foreign suicide bombers “freedom fighters”. I am not sure how long most of those unconditionally supporting the resistance today would last inside Iraq if the militant insurgents responsible for killing and kidnapping Iraqi civilians and foreigners would actually prevail.
There is no doubt that the previous Coalition Provisional Authority and the various transitional governments have lacked credibility amongst the majority of the Iraqi population. Reconstruction has been incredibly slow and fraught with corruption and ill-management. Yet, the seeds for genuine political transformation, the rebuilding of physical and political spaces and a non-violent opposition to foreign occupation have been made more and more impossible by the increasing violence and instability caused by the insurgence. And there are non-violent ways of resisting: continuous images of hundred-thousands even millions of Iraqis - men, women and children of all ages and backgrounds - demonstrating peacefully on the streets of Iraq would send a very forceful message across the world: a message that could not be ignored by Washington and London, especially if Iraqis are joined by people all over the world taking to the streets in solidarity.
At the same time Iraqis, lobbying their own government - as flawed as the process of election was – through civil society associations, city councils and various other institutions, can resist foreign encroachment and the imposition of outside political actors, values and economic systems. Iraqis at the grassroots level did start to group together, mobilize and resist non-violently, and they continue to do so. Women activists have been at the forefront of these actions and initiatives. Yet, the political spaces have been shrinking not simply as a function of ongoing occupation and the type of government in place, but also, and crucially, because of the lack of security caused by violent insurgents.
For those of us concerned about the erosion of women’s rights inside Iraq, Islamist militants pose a particular danger. Many women’s organisations and activists inside Iraq have documented the increasing attacks on women, the pressure to conform to certain dress codes, the restrictions in movement and behaviour, incidents of acid thrown into women’s faces… and even killings. It is extremely short-sighted for anyone not to condemn these types of attacks, but for women this becomes existential. Women and ‘women’s issues’ have, of course, been instrumentalized - in Afghanistan, but also in Iraq. We know that both Bush and Blair have tried to co-opt the language of democracy and human rights, especially women’s rights. But them instrumentalizing women does not mean that we should condone or accept the way Islamist militants are, for their part, using women symbolically and attacking them physically to express their resistance.
It is high time to be much clearer about what we should support and what not. It is high time to abandon the unconditional support for terrorists and criminals responsible for the killing of Iraqi civilians. It is high time to acknowledge that Iraqis inside are divided along many different lines and that glossing over these differences does not help national unity in the long run. It is high time to seriously look for non-violent means of resistance to the occupation in Iraq and wider US imperialism. It is high time to recognize that the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend…
(Dr Nadje Al-Ali is senior lecturer in social anthropology at the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. She is a founding member of Act Together: Women’s Action on Iraq, and a member of Women in Black, London.)
Call on the oil workers in Basra
For so many days the protests of oil workers in Basra carried on demanding their annual payables and rejection of the management decision to deduct %20 of their allowances. Earlier on the workers forced the management to negotiate their demands after facing a strike by hundreds of workers who threatened to go on general strike and halt the production down if the management wouldn’t respond.
The management resorted to their assistants in what is so called the southern oil trade union who promised to respond to their demands however they hindered the workers efforts instead. At the same time the management resort to procrastination and postponement and tried to mislead the workers by telling them that the government is the reason behind these issues and they are standing by the workers for their demands.
With the strikers continue raising their demands, the political powers and parties who propagandize for Federalism, these right wing reactionaries that took over the power through fraud and deception procedures called it elections; have intervened to carry on a propaganda for their project to high jack and endorsing the workers cause to their own issues that aim to divide the society in the name of federalism and materialize their domination.
Our federation slogan is always “heir project ions.,aries that took over the power through fraud and deception and called it elethe strength of the working class in its integration and unity” and this slogan was proven throughout the history of workers struggle, whereas the calling for federalism parties, telling the workers that federalism will lead to an equal distribution of wealth especially oil revenue among the people and bring prosperity. On the other hand these same parties and powers seek working class fragmentation and carried on a massive operation of robbery in Iraq’s modern history.
The oil workers of Basra stand in the front lint of the movement, and their rights and demands will prevail throughout their unity.
Long live worker class unity
Long live worker cause
Down With the Reactionary Federalism Project
Falah Alwan
President of
Federation of Worker Councils and Unions in Iraq
July 18, 2005
The management resorted to their assistants in what is so called the southern oil trade union who promised to respond to their demands however they hindered the workers efforts instead. At the same time the management resort to procrastination and postponement and tried to mislead the workers by telling them that the government is the reason behind these issues and they are standing by the workers for their demands.
With the strikers continue raising their demands, the political powers and parties who propagandize for Federalism, these right wing reactionaries that took over the power through fraud and deception procedures called it elections; have intervened to carry on a propaganda for their project to high jack and endorsing the workers cause to their own issues that aim to divide the society in the name of federalism and materialize their domination.
Our federation slogan is always “heir project ions.,aries that took over the power through fraud and deception and called it elethe strength of the working class in its integration and unity” and this slogan was proven throughout the history of workers struggle, whereas the calling for federalism parties, telling the workers that federalism will lead to an equal distribution of wealth especially oil revenue among the people and bring prosperity. On the other hand these same parties and powers seek working class fragmentation and carried on a massive operation of robbery in Iraq’s modern history.
The oil workers of Basra stand in the front lint of the movement, and their rights and demands will prevail throughout their unity.
Long live worker class unity
Long live worker cause
Down With the Reactionary Federalism Project
Falah Alwan
President of
Federation of Worker Councils and Unions in Iraq
July 18, 2005
Sunday, July 17
Bombings in London and Iraq
Model motion drafted by Iraq Union Solidarity..
We note
We condemn
We Resolve
We note
- The horrific terrorist bombings in London on 7 July 2005, with the deaths of over 50 innocent civilians, mostly workers.
- That al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bombings.
- That similar groups frequently carry out bombings of innocent workers and civilians in Iraq.
- That these bombings are part of a sequence of terrorist tragedies such as New York, Madrid, Baghdad, Bali, Turkey and elsewhere.
- That Bush and Blair’s "War on Terror" has caused immense misery, has failed to stop terrorism but has turned Iraq into a battleground for various terrorist networks, to kill, kidnap, and violate innocent Iraqis.
We condemn
Both Bush and Blair’s "War on Terror" and the movements which organise and encourage the bombings, in London, Iraq and elsewhere, which cause great fear, pain and chaos to ordinary people.
We Call For
- Our union to send a message of support to the families of the victims of the London bombings and Iraq bombings if possible.
- An end to the occupation of Iraq.
- Our union to send a message of support to organisations in Iraq who are struggling for a democratic and secular constitution, and especially to support trade unions and groups campaigning for equal rights for women in Iraq.
We Resolve
- To affiliate to Iraq Union solidarity and send them a donation of £50.
- To send a donation of £50 to the TUC Iraq appeal.
Iraqi Oil Workers Hold 24-hour Strike - Oil Exports Shut Down
15,000 Southern Oil Company workers from the General Union of Oil Employees - Iraq's largest independent union - began a 24-hour strike today, cutting most oil exports from the south of Iraq.
The strike is in support of demands made by Basra Governor Mohammad al-Waili - reflective of the wishes of the vast majority of Basra's residents - for a higher percentage of Southern oil revenue to be ploughed back into Basra's local economy. Basra's sewage system, electricity grid and medical services are still damaged and running at limited capacity. Despite being the capital of Iraq's oil reserves, the governorate is still struggling with entrenched poverty, malnutrition and an unemployment rate of 40% The GUOE has been involved in an industrial dispute with the Southern Oil Company administration, Ministry of Oil and Government since June 20th when workers at the Basra Oil Refinery staged protest action and a lock out. The Union is demanding the removal of high ranking Baathist managers in the SOC and regime loyalists serving in the Ministry of Oil.
The Union has given the Ministry of Oil until January 1st 2006 to comply. 15 in total are marked for removal.
The Union is also calling for an increase in workers wages. According to the Media and Culture Officer, Faraj Rabat Mizbhan, the basic starting pay for an Iraqi soldier is 700,000 ID (£270) per month whilst a senior oil worker with 30 years service is being paid on average 400,000 ID (£150). The Union is also calling for land allowances for workers - currently a provision limited to high ranking managers.
The Union is also calling for an increase in risk payments - currently at the same level as workers employed in offices. Risk payments are allocated to workers working in dangerous locations usually situated far into desert regions.
Union President Hassan Jumaa Awad al Assadi plus members of the executive committee have been involved in negotiations with the Ministry of Oil and Central Government over the past month. The Governor of Basra fully supports the demands of the GUOE. Negotiations between the Ministry of Oil and Government and Union have resumed in order to avert a full general strike which would involve a further 8,000 union members included in Amara and Nassiriyeh provinces.
Non Union workers have also been known to join GUOE strike action in the past. If the Iraqi government does not agree to the Union's demands, a general strike will ensue.
Notes Currently, the Southern oil sector is providing the central and Northern areas of Iraq with the vast majority of its petroleum, LPG and oil, as well as providing the bulk of oil exports.
The GUOE held its' first conference on Privatisation this May which ended with a resolution against the privatisation of Iraq's oil industry, declaring that 'privatisation of the oil and industrial sectors, or of any part of them, will do great harm to the Iraqi people and their economy'. It also called upon 'members of Parliament... to take a firm stand against political currents and directives calling for the privatisation of the public sector in Iraq' and called 'upon all States to remit the odious debts undertaken by the previous regime, without condition and without infringing the independence, sovereignty and economic self-governance of Iraq', (Final Conference Communiqué May 25 2005) For further information please contact: Faraj Rabat Mizbhan, Responsible for Culture and Media, GUOE 00964 7801 393 137 (Arabic only) Nafutna - UK Support Committee for the General Union of Oil Employees Ewa Jasiewicz (0044) 07749 421 576 or Munir Chalabi (0044) 7952 683 415 Photographs of the recent conference and sites contact David Bacon dbacon@igc.org 001 510 851 1589
The strike is in support of demands made by Basra Governor Mohammad al-Waili - reflective of the wishes of the vast majority of Basra's residents - for a higher percentage of Southern oil revenue to be ploughed back into Basra's local economy. Basra's sewage system, electricity grid and medical services are still damaged and running at limited capacity. Despite being the capital of Iraq's oil reserves, the governorate is still struggling with entrenched poverty, malnutrition and an unemployment rate of 40% The GUOE has been involved in an industrial dispute with the Southern Oil Company administration, Ministry of Oil and Government since June 20th when workers at the Basra Oil Refinery staged protest action and a lock out. The Union is demanding the removal of high ranking Baathist managers in the SOC and regime loyalists serving in the Ministry of Oil.
The Union has given the Ministry of Oil until January 1st 2006 to comply. 15 in total are marked for removal.
The Union is also calling for an increase in workers wages. According to the Media and Culture Officer, Faraj Rabat Mizbhan, the basic starting pay for an Iraqi soldier is 700,000 ID (£270) per month whilst a senior oil worker with 30 years service is being paid on average 400,000 ID (£150). The Union is also calling for land allowances for workers - currently a provision limited to high ranking managers.
The Union is also calling for an increase in risk payments - currently at the same level as workers employed in offices. Risk payments are allocated to workers working in dangerous locations usually situated far into desert regions.
Union President Hassan Jumaa Awad al Assadi plus members of the executive committee have been involved in negotiations with the Ministry of Oil and Central Government over the past month. The Governor of Basra fully supports the demands of the GUOE. Negotiations between the Ministry of Oil and Government and Union have resumed in order to avert a full general strike which would involve a further 8,000 union members included in Amara and Nassiriyeh provinces.
Non Union workers have also been known to join GUOE strike action in the past. If the Iraqi government does not agree to the Union's demands, a general strike will ensue.
Notes Currently, the Southern oil sector is providing the central and Northern areas of Iraq with the vast majority of its petroleum, LPG and oil, as well as providing the bulk of oil exports.
The GUOE held its' first conference on Privatisation this May which ended with a resolution against the privatisation of Iraq's oil industry, declaring that 'privatisation of the oil and industrial sectors, or of any part of them, will do great harm to the Iraqi people and their economy'. It also called upon 'members of Parliament... to take a firm stand against political currents and directives calling for the privatisation of the public sector in Iraq' and called 'upon all States to remit the odious debts undertaken by the previous regime, without condition and without infringing the independence, sovereignty and economic self-governance of Iraq', (Final Conference Communiqué May 25 2005) For further information please contact: Faraj Rabat Mizbhan, Responsible for Culture and Media, GUOE 00964 7801 393 137 (Arabic only) Nafutna - UK Support Committee for the General Union of Oil Employees Ewa Jasiewicz (0044) 07749 421 576 or Munir Chalabi (0044) 7952 683 415 Photographs of the recent conference and sites contact David Bacon dbacon@igc.org 001 510 851 1589
Wednesday, July 13
Bombing buses and trains in London is a terrorist and criminal act (from the FWCUI)
Tens of innocents lost their lives and hundreds were injured in London’s bombings on Thursday July 7, 2005 among them students, children, workers, elderly and women. Fears were spread out among children and families. The state of emergency was declared and a climate of skepticism is generated among people.
We in Iraq face and live with all these conditions almost everyday, innocents are being murdered in tens in similar and identical ways to the one committed in London and by the same terrorist groups and individuals and lived bitterness of losing our beloved ones in an explosives and terrorist acts.
We condole and mourn the victims’ families and their friends; also we demand the liberated and civilized forces and powers to stand against any act that targets the lives of innocent civilians and try to destabilize security anywhere in the world.
Falah Alwan
President of
Federation of Worker Councils and Unions in Iraq
July 8, 2005
We in Iraq face and live with all these conditions almost everyday, innocents are being murdered in tens in similar and identical ways to the one committed in London and by the same terrorist groups and individuals and lived bitterness of losing our beloved ones in an explosives and terrorist acts.
We condole and mourn the victims’ families and their friends; also we demand the liberated and civilized forces and powers to stand against any act that targets the lives of innocent civilians and try to destabilize security anywhere in the world.
Falah Alwan
President of
Federation of Worker Councils and Unions in Iraq
July 8, 2005
Tuesday, July 12
IFTU statement on the London bombings
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.
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.
Monday, July 11
Statement by Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (UK) on the London bombings
What happened in London is another hideous crime of global terrorists against humanity!
Through occupation of Iraq and So called “War on terror” USA and its allies cannot bring terrorism into an end!
The news of the horrific terrorist attack in London on 07/07/2005 has added one more tragedy against humanity. We are living in an era where terrorism has become a daily threat to everyones life. The organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq- UK branch gives its most heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this calamity.
The political Islamists who have declared their “Jihad” on the world started from countries in the Middle East by imposing Islamic Sharia Law, forcing women to wear the Veil, stoning them to death in public, and many more oppressions were made a way of life for nearly three decades now.
The USA and Western states saw all this and turned a blind eye to it before the September 11th events. The Islamists were even nurtured and supported by them.
When this “Jihad” for killing “infidels “reached the US its “war on terror” response only unleashed further the most reactionary Islamist forces onto the scene, giving them a “reason” to attack, kill, behead, and murder civilians wherever it is possible for them. The London attack is part of a sequence of terrorist actions in the world; we still haven’t forgotten the tragedies that took place in New York, Madrid, Baghdad, Bali, Turkey, and many other places.
The so called “war on terror” has brought immense miseries to the people of Iraq. It has turned it into a battleground for various terrorist networks to terrorise people of Iraq and foreigners as they wish. Today throughout Iraq suicide bombings, beheadings, hostage taking, murdering innocent civilians, killing women, and beheading them has become the norm.
The occupation of Iraq is a major cause of this terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere. America’s attack on Iraq itself was open terrorism and an intimidation to the whole of humanity. The Islamist reactionaries are using this as a pretext to take the safety, life and security of the people as a hostage.
The OWFI strongly condemns the carnage and crimes committed by Islamists. They should be condemned by all. The Islamists should be denied any support or sympathy. The self appointed leaders of the world in the G 8 summit have announced their determination on the continuation of the “War on terror”, but they cannot bring it to an end as they themselves have created it all, and are responsible for the war, destruction, hunger and poverty in the world.
But it is the task of the progressive and secular forces across the world to stand up to these atrocities which have been committed against humankind all over the world for causes that are not ours and have nothing to do with our aspirations.
Houzan Mahmoud
Representative of OWFI in UK
E-mail: houzan73@yahoo.co.ukTel :(07956883001) www.equalityiniraq.com
Houzan Mahmoud
Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq
E-mail: houzan73@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 00 44 ( 79 56 88 3001)
web; www.equalityiniraq.com
Through occupation of Iraq and So called “War on terror” USA and its allies cannot bring terrorism into an end!
The news of the horrific terrorist attack in London on 07/07/2005 has added one more tragedy against humanity. We are living in an era where terrorism has become a daily threat to everyones life. The organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq- UK branch gives its most heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this calamity.
The political Islamists who have declared their “Jihad” on the world started from countries in the Middle East by imposing Islamic Sharia Law, forcing women to wear the Veil, stoning them to death in public, and many more oppressions were made a way of life for nearly three decades now.
The USA and Western states saw all this and turned a blind eye to it before the September 11th events. The Islamists were even nurtured and supported by them.
When this “Jihad” for killing “infidels “reached the US its “war on terror” response only unleashed further the most reactionary Islamist forces onto the scene, giving them a “reason” to attack, kill, behead, and murder civilians wherever it is possible for them. The London attack is part of a sequence of terrorist actions in the world; we still haven’t forgotten the tragedies that took place in New York, Madrid, Baghdad, Bali, Turkey, and many other places.
The so called “war on terror” has brought immense miseries to the people of Iraq. It has turned it into a battleground for various terrorist networks to terrorise people of Iraq and foreigners as they wish. Today throughout Iraq suicide bombings, beheadings, hostage taking, murdering innocent civilians, killing women, and beheading them has become the norm.
The occupation of Iraq is a major cause of this terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere. America’s attack on Iraq itself was open terrorism and an intimidation to the whole of humanity. The Islamist reactionaries are using this as a pretext to take the safety, life and security of the people as a hostage.
The OWFI strongly condemns the carnage and crimes committed by Islamists. They should be condemned by all. The Islamists should be denied any support or sympathy. The self appointed leaders of the world in the G 8 summit have announced their determination on the continuation of the “War on terror”, but they cannot bring it to an end as they themselves have created it all, and are responsible for the war, destruction, hunger and poverty in the world.
But it is the task of the progressive and secular forces across the world to stand up to these atrocities which have been committed against humankind all over the world for causes that are not ours and have nothing to do with our aspirations.
Houzan Mahmoud
Representative of OWFI in UK
E-mail: houzan73@yahoo.co.ukTel :(07956883001) www.equalityiniraq.com
Houzan Mahmoud
Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq
E-mail: houzan73@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 00 44 ( 79 56 88 3001)
web; www.equalityiniraq.com
Thursday, July 7
Statement Regarding the Abolishment of Basic Needs Subsidy
Following its proclamations the Iraqi government acts have become very obvious, especially those concerns the abolishment of subsidizing basic needs (sugar, tea, rice, food oil, etc...) gas, and electricity in compliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF). Dick Cheney’s corporate got $8 Billion for putting out part of burning pipe in Rumailah oil well whereas the actual cost of this operation was estimated of only $50.000, multinational troops presence cost about $8.5 Billion a month, free fuel, luxurious houses, shares in the multinational corporations, concrete barricades, and special security companies, All of these were not included in cutting back the budget. The cut back has comprehended the ration voucher that even the former fascist regime couldn’t dare to touch, in spite of its poorness of quality. Thus the current government sees this as an appropriate solution that will put an end to the crisis.
The most harmed section of the society is workers particularly the unemployed workers. Therefore the unemployed people will be more integrated with their union, the Union of Unemployed in Iraq and more closer to their demands that include employment insurance which represents the bottom line demands. Also they will thwart the plans intended to drive the society into poverty, sectarian war, and deprivation.
The Union of unemployed in Iraq holds the US administration, United Nations, International food Organization, governments of multinational troops in Iraq, and Jaffary government responsible for any upcoming substantial and moral damages that will affect the society and cause wide spread famine across the country, and warn the authorities from committing these kinds acts.
Steering Committee of
The Union of unemployed in Iraq
June 15, 2005
The most harmed section of the society is workers particularly the unemployed workers. Therefore the unemployed people will be more integrated with their union, the Union of Unemployed in Iraq and more closer to their demands that include employment insurance which represents the bottom line demands. Also they will thwart the plans intended to drive the society into poverty, sectarian war, and deprivation.
The Union of unemployed in Iraq holds the US administration, United Nations, International food Organization, governments of multinational troops in Iraq, and Jaffary government responsible for any upcoming substantial and moral damages that will affect the society and cause wide spread famine across the country, and warn the authorities from committing these kinds acts.
Steering Committee of
The Union of unemployed in Iraq
June 15, 2005
Sunday, July 3
Iraqi union leaders seek troop withdrawal, solidarity
by Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota
June 23rd, 2005
ST. PAUL Two Iraqi union leaders Thursday issued a call for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq and pledged solidarity with workers in the United States and around the globe.
More than 300 people packed the Carpenters hall for discussion with Falah Awan, president of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI), and Amjad Ali Aljawhry, an Iraqi union leader in exile in Canada and a representative of the FWCUI in North America.
The union leaders are part of a six-member delegation touring the United States at the invitation of U.S. Labor Against the War. In the Twin Cities, their visit was sponsored by the United Steelworkers, several other unions and other organizations.
Iraqi labor leaders Falah Awan (left) and Amjad Ali Aljawhry addressed a huge crowd at the Carpenters hall.
"We hosted this event because we believe, as trade unionists, that a fundamental building block for the creation of a prosperous, safe and free society is the exercise of workers' rights – the right for everyone to earn enough money to put food on the table, a roof over their head and clothes on their back," said Steelworkers District 11 Director Dave Foster.
"Nowhere today is the absence of labor and human rights being played out with more chilling effect than in Iraq. And nowhere do the obligations of American citizenship require us to speak out more forcefully and to demand that these basic rights be observed than in Iraq."
Even though Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, the United States and the new Iraqi government continue to enforce Hussein's laws banning most unions. Before the war, Awan refused to sign a Saddam loyalty pledge and was blacklisted from his job as an engineer. He became an underground union organizer. Ali Ajawhry was blacklisted for his political views and union organizing among sewing workers and was forced to flee, first to Turkey, then to Canada.
Today, union organizing continues, but faces serious problems because of government repression, ethnic tensions and the security problems that make daily life a very difficult struggle, they said.
"It is very hard to imagine the kind of life people are living under the occupation," said Ali Ajawhry. He and Awan said the withdrawal of U.S. troops is the only way to end the violent insurgency that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis.
"We believe when the occupation troops are out, these people (insurgents) won't have this pretext to carry out their acts," Ali Ajawhry said. The creation of a new government split along religious and ethnic lines, also has exacerbated tensions, he said.
The labor movement is part of a secular, progressive movement that is working to rebuild Iraq – but it's not getting any help from the Bush administration, the two union leaders said. The unions have been working to get a labor code included in the new Iraqi constitution, but thus far have been shut out of the process, they said.
"I believe the secular movement does not lack the numbers – it lacks the organizing" and resources, Awan said. "The workers must participate in building this society."
The crowd at the program passed the hat to raise money for the Iraqi unions. Fundraising is taking place at each stop in the union leaders' two-week journey, organizers said.
Foster said the visit by the Iraqis illustrated the parallels between the Bush administration's anti-labor policies at home and its anti-labor practices abroad. He called on everyone to support worker rights in Iraq and take part in the discussion about the U.S. role in that country.
"We consider ourselves as an international movement," Awan said. "Any victory we achieve in Iraq will be a victory for all the international labor movement."
June 23rd, 2005
ST. PAUL Two Iraqi union leaders Thursday issued a call for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq and pledged solidarity with workers in the United States and around the globe.
More than 300 people packed the Carpenters hall for discussion with Falah Awan, president of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI), and Amjad Ali Aljawhry, an Iraqi union leader in exile in Canada and a representative of the FWCUI in North America.
The union leaders are part of a six-member delegation touring the United States at the invitation of U.S. Labor Against the War. In the Twin Cities, their visit was sponsored by the United Steelworkers, several other unions and other organizations.
Iraqi labor leaders Falah Awan (left) and Amjad Ali Aljawhry addressed a huge crowd at the Carpenters hall.
"We hosted this event because we believe, as trade unionists, that a fundamental building block for the creation of a prosperous, safe and free society is the exercise of workers' rights – the right for everyone to earn enough money to put food on the table, a roof over their head and clothes on their back," said Steelworkers District 11 Director Dave Foster.
"Nowhere today is the absence of labor and human rights being played out with more chilling effect than in Iraq. And nowhere do the obligations of American citizenship require us to speak out more forcefully and to demand that these basic rights be observed than in Iraq."
Even though Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, the United States and the new Iraqi government continue to enforce Hussein's laws banning most unions. Before the war, Awan refused to sign a Saddam loyalty pledge and was blacklisted from his job as an engineer. He became an underground union organizer. Ali Ajawhry was blacklisted for his political views and union organizing among sewing workers and was forced to flee, first to Turkey, then to Canada.
Today, union organizing continues, but faces serious problems because of government repression, ethnic tensions and the security problems that make daily life a very difficult struggle, they said.
"It is very hard to imagine the kind of life people are living under the occupation," said Ali Ajawhry. He and Awan said the withdrawal of U.S. troops is the only way to end the violent insurgency that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis.
"We believe when the occupation troops are out, these people (insurgents) won't have this pretext to carry out their acts," Ali Ajawhry said. The creation of a new government split along religious and ethnic lines, also has exacerbated tensions, he said.
The labor movement is part of a secular, progressive movement that is working to rebuild Iraq – but it's not getting any help from the Bush administration, the two union leaders said. The unions have been working to get a labor code included in the new Iraqi constitution, but thus far have been shut out of the process, they said.
"I believe the secular movement does not lack the numbers – it lacks the organizing" and resources, Awan said. "The workers must participate in building this society."
The crowd at the program passed the hat to raise money for the Iraqi unions. Fundraising is taking place at each stop in the union leaders' two-week journey, organizers said.
Foster said the visit by the Iraqis illustrated the parallels between the Bush administration's anti-labor policies at home and its anti-labor practices abroad. He called on everyone to support worker rights in Iraq and take part in the discussion about the U.S. role in that country.
"We consider ourselves as an international movement," Awan said. "Any victory we achieve in Iraq will be a victory for all the international labor movement."
Iraqi union leader: "Devastation, death, instability--this is the occupation"
by Kathleen Wilkes
June 23rd, 2005
MADISON, WI--Amjad Al-Jawhary is a man with one heart divided between two nations: Canada, his adopted country, where he can keep his family safe; and Iraq, his homeland, where he and his fellow trade unionists are challenged by insurgents, occupation forces, corruption and greed in their pursuit of economic justice through union organizing.
It's an uphill battle, and it shows. At Monday's noontime gathering at the Madison Labor Temple, the 100 or so who came to hear him saw a brave, dedicated, frustrated and tired man who spoke eloquently about the harsh realities his people face every day in occupied Iraq.
"The occupation has achieved nothing but devastation, death, instability, and economic devastation" he said. "Human value is down the drain... Soldiers raid homes, take people captive, hold them captive for a month, a year, two years... There is no court. This is the occupation."
Al-Jawhary is one of six Iraqi labor leaders currently touring the United States at the invitation and sponsorship of US Labor Against the War, a coalition of labor unions opposed to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. He represents the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq, as well as the Union of the Unemployed in Iraq for North America.
Blacklisted by Saddam Hussein's regime for his political and union activism, Al-Jawhary could not work in any of the vast enterprises run by the state. He fled with his family to Turkey in 1995 and got involved in helping Iraqi refugees. A year later he moved his family to Toronto, Canada, where he continues to speak out on Iraqi issues and works with the anti-sanctions and anti-war movements. He's been to Iraq and back several times since the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime; he arrived in the US just days ago after four months in his war-torn fatherland.
Clamping his hands firmly on the sides of the podium and leaning forward toward the crowd, Al-Jawhary declared: "No matter whether it is legitimate or illegitimate, war is war. And paying the price of the war is the workers."
The minimum wage for public sector workers, he said, has hit rock bottom--a mere $45 a month--as a result of decrees issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), headed by Paul Bremer. The CPA's been replaced by the Iraq Governing Council, yet the minimum wage is still in effect, as is Saddam Hussein's repressive labor laws banning unions for public employees.
With high inflation, "massive" unemployment and skyrocketing rents--"$90 is the cheapest," Al-Jawhary noted--children are laboring as street vendors to help support their families. Meanwhile Iraqis are scrambling to cope with directives from the World Bank and the IMF forcing the Iraqi government to eliminate food and other subsidies and "leave it to the free market. For thirteen years we had coupons for rice, tea, sugar... More than 75 percent of Iraqis relied on this. Now, people will kill each other for food."
Privatization of the once-mighty public sector--a key component of the Bush Administration's economic revamping of Iraq--means even more unemployed. "Only 40-60 percent of the public sector are needed to work there," Al-Jawhary said. "The rest will be laid off...7.5 million"--bad news for both Iraqi and American workers. Iraq may well be the next offshore haven for outsourcing US jobs:
"Unemployment is high, poverty is high, there are no benefits. This creates a market of cheap labor. Businesses here [in the US] will shut down and move to Iraq. People here will lose jobs."
Al-Jawhary and other Iraqi trade unionists have been working to reverse the trend, but they face tremendous opposition. "The labor code is as it was under the former regime. We can't form federations freely. In 1987, the government banned unions in the public sector. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, we thought maybe now we would have the right to organize, the right of association. But the Iraq Governing Council issued decree Number 16 and gave official status to one union and derecognized the others. We have to go through that union. They support the occupation."
Lack of official status hasn't stopped Iraqi unions from agitating for change. And that's put them dead in the middle of the conflict between the insurgents and occupation forces. The insurgents oppose them because they support a non-sectarian approach to government; the occupation thwarts their efforts to organize and has jailed and harassed union leaders and destroyed union offices.
Still the unions persist in their advocacy of workers and are attempting to incorporate various proposals into Iraq's Constitution--for labor rights, human rights, women's rights, children's rights, and freedom of association. The Iraqi government "has not responded," Al-Jawhary said.
Formed along religious and ethnic lines, the new government, he said, has caused even greater division among Iraqis. It may have even fueled the insurgents by favoring the occupation. "Iraq is on the verge of a civil war," Al-Jawhary warned, noting that his union and others support a secular state and "have condemned the elections" in Iraq. They also adamantly oppose the US/British occupation.
"We want to end the occupation. Some are making money from it, but ordinary people don't want it. It has caused violence, killing and crime. If we get rid of the occupation, these groups of terrorists lose their ground. Some say if the occupation ends, there will be chaos. But we have chaos now."
Insurgents, occupation forces, unemployment, food shortages--all are problematic, but they are not the only challenges the Iraqi people face, Al-Jawhary points out. "There is no good water purification, no good water to drink. The water is turned on two hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.; if you miss it, you miss it. Electricity, only four hours a day. Sewers: instead of treatment, it just goes into the river. If it's raining, we get a flood of black water.
"There is no employment insurance. We have the worst health care ever. It was devastated at the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, and it got worse and worse. These are the living conditions of almost every single worker."
Al-Jawhary gave a heart-breaking example of life in the middle of armed conflict: "A person had a heart attack. He was supposed to go to the hospital. There was no ambulance. There was a curfew. His son tried to get a car or taxi--dangerous at night. The route to the hospital was a dangerous risk. It took four hours to get to the hospital. That guy was dead... That guy was my father. Just fifteen minutes earlier to the hospital, he would be alive."
Survival is the name of the game. While issues like privatization, depleted uranium, corruption and rip-off are well known among Iraqis, they are not priorities, Al-Jawhary said. "Because of violence and security the people are more focused on being careful not to get killed... The people are concentrated on violence in the street. The NGOs [non-governmental organizations] try to treat and get help. For the Iraqi people, we don't have time to think about it."
The insurgents, he insisted, are not of nor wanted by the vast majority of Iraqis: "I want you to go and tell the people there are Iraqis who are progressive, who want to live. It's not needed to show religious fanatics and killers. We never had a tradition of suicide bombers; they came from outside Iraq. [Before the war and occupation] there was not one single incident. Today it is the aftermath..."
To skeptics who say that ending the occupation will result in more instability, Al-Jawhary points out that the people of his country have been tested and toughened in one conflict after the other over the last three decades: wars with Israel and Iran; two wars with the US; civil war with the Kurds; thirteen years of sanctions and hardship; and, now, occupation--all resulting in the deaths of millions, including hundreds of thousands of children.
"I sound so hopeless but we, the workers, will rebuild Iraq," he vowed. "Most of us in Iraq have kids. I have a daughter, 13. Tell the parents: you have kids now, you raise them, you grow them up, bring them to school, give them clothes, food... Our kids deserve to live, they deserve a better life and prosperity. Whether our kids or your kids, both are the same. We want to send them to college or university; we want them to build a life. We don't want them dying. We must bring our kids home. We must end the occupation now."
SIDEBAR: Wisconsin labor calls for end to occupation as AFL-CIO balks
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has passed two resolutions to be introduced to the national federation convention in Chicago at the end of July. The first calls on the AFL-CIO to demand that the government "end the occupation of Iraq, repeal the Patriot Act and reorder priorities to meet national needs," according to state fed president David Newby.
The second, he said, calls for full labor rights in Iraq, nullification of Saddam Hussein's labor laws (which have been enforced by, first, the Coalition Provisional Authority under Paul Bremer and now the Iraq Governing Council), and freedom of expression for labor rights.
Monday night, delegates to the South Central Federation Labor (SCFL) voted unanimously to approve a similar resolution that "calls upon President Bush and Congress to bring our troops home from Iraq and provide veterans with benefits that meet their needs..."
SCFL, said president Jim Cavanaugh, joins a growing number of labor councils and international, national and local unions that will be pressuring the national AFL-CIO at the July convention to take a "strong position" against the occupation.
Cavanaugh also passed around a petition from US Labor Against the War to the AFL-CIO for delegates' signatures--another effort to get the national federation to take a stand on the war and occupation. The petition states in part:
"It is time for labor to speak out! At this time of discussion about renewing our labor movement, how can we not discuss the most urgent issue facing America and its working families? We ask you to put the issue of the war on the agenda of the upcoming Executive Council meeting. And we urge the national leadership of the AFL-CIO to oppose this reckless, illegal and immoral war.
"More specifically, we ask for action on the following proposals by the Executive Council and the quadrennial convention of the AFL-CIO.
The AFL-CIO should demand an immediate end to the US occupation of Iraq and return of U.S. troops to their homes and families, and the reordering of national priorities toward peace and meeting the human needs of our people; and
Through its community service programs, the AFL-CIO and its state and local affiliates should assist union members and their families who are called upon to serve in the armed forces and returning veterans by identifying and providing information about resources and services available to meet their needs, by advocating for their interests, and by protecting their jobs, seniority and benefits and those of unorganized workers in similar circumstances."
The AFL-CIO's virtual silence on the war and occupation has been a source of division among its affiliates. Iraqi union leaders, scheduled to meet with Federation president John Sweeney in Washington, DC early last week, were told the meeting would not take place if it included a representative from US Labor Against the War. The Iraqis said they could not meet with Sweeney without the very people who invited them to the US and organized and paid for their trip. The Fed relented. The meeting went forward, but Sweeney reportedly was either non-committal or non-responsive.
(Kathleen Wilkes is a longtime labor activist and writer; publisher of Two-Headed Alien Shrinks Labor Movement, a collection of labor and political cartoons by Gary Huck and Mike Konopacki; and former communications director of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union.)
June 23rd, 2005
MADISON, WI--Amjad Al-Jawhary is a man with one heart divided between two nations: Canada, his adopted country, where he can keep his family safe; and Iraq, his homeland, where he and his fellow trade unionists are challenged by insurgents, occupation forces, corruption and greed in their pursuit of economic justice through union organizing.
It's an uphill battle, and it shows. At Monday's noontime gathering at the Madison Labor Temple, the 100 or so who came to hear him saw a brave, dedicated, frustrated and tired man who spoke eloquently about the harsh realities his people face every day in occupied Iraq.
"The occupation has achieved nothing but devastation, death, instability, and economic devastation" he said. "Human value is down the drain... Soldiers raid homes, take people captive, hold them captive for a month, a year, two years... There is no court. This is the occupation."
Al-Jawhary is one of six Iraqi labor leaders currently touring the United States at the invitation and sponsorship of US Labor Against the War, a coalition of labor unions opposed to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. He represents the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq, as well as the Union of the Unemployed in Iraq for North America.
Blacklisted by Saddam Hussein's regime for his political and union activism, Al-Jawhary could not work in any of the vast enterprises run by the state. He fled with his family to Turkey in 1995 and got involved in helping Iraqi refugees. A year later he moved his family to Toronto, Canada, where he continues to speak out on Iraqi issues and works with the anti-sanctions and anti-war movements. He's been to Iraq and back several times since the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime; he arrived in the US just days ago after four months in his war-torn fatherland.
Clamping his hands firmly on the sides of the podium and leaning forward toward the crowd, Al-Jawhary declared: "No matter whether it is legitimate or illegitimate, war is war. And paying the price of the war is the workers."
The minimum wage for public sector workers, he said, has hit rock bottom--a mere $45 a month--as a result of decrees issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), headed by Paul Bremer. The CPA's been replaced by the Iraq Governing Council, yet the minimum wage is still in effect, as is Saddam Hussein's repressive labor laws banning unions for public employees.
With high inflation, "massive" unemployment and skyrocketing rents--"$90 is the cheapest," Al-Jawhary noted--children are laboring as street vendors to help support their families. Meanwhile Iraqis are scrambling to cope with directives from the World Bank and the IMF forcing the Iraqi government to eliminate food and other subsidies and "leave it to the free market. For thirteen years we had coupons for rice, tea, sugar... More than 75 percent of Iraqis relied on this. Now, people will kill each other for food."
Privatization of the once-mighty public sector--a key component of the Bush Administration's economic revamping of Iraq--means even more unemployed. "Only 40-60 percent of the public sector are needed to work there," Al-Jawhary said. "The rest will be laid off...7.5 million"--bad news for both Iraqi and American workers. Iraq may well be the next offshore haven for outsourcing US jobs:
"Unemployment is high, poverty is high, there are no benefits. This creates a market of cheap labor. Businesses here [in the US] will shut down and move to Iraq. People here will lose jobs."
Al-Jawhary and other Iraqi trade unionists have been working to reverse the trend, but they face tremendous opposition. "The labor code is as it was under the former regime. We can't form federations freely. In 1987, the government banned unions in the public sector. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, we thought maybe now we would have the right to organize, the right of association. But the Iraq Governing Council issued decree Number 16 and gave official status to one union and derecognized the others. We have to go through that union. They support the occupation."
Lack of official status hasn't stopped Iraqi unions from agitating for change. And that's put them dead in the middle of the conflict between the insurgents and occupation forces. The insurgents oppose them because they support a non-sectarian approach to government; the occupation thwarts their efforts to organize and has jailed and harassed union leaders and destroyed union offices.
Still the unions persist in their advocacy of workers and are attempting to incorporate various proposals into Iraq's Constitution--for labor rights, human rights, women's rights, children's rights, and freedom of association. The Iraqi government "has not responded," Al-Jawhary said.
Formed along religious and ethnic lines, the new government, he said, has caused even greater division among Iraqis. It may have even fueled the insurgents by favoring the occupation. "Iraq is on the verge of a civil war," Al-Jawhary warned, noting that his union and others support a secular state and "have condemned the elections" in Iraq. They also adamantly oppose the US/British occupation.
"We want to end the occupation. Some are making money from it, but ordinary people don't want it. It has caused violence, killing and crime. If we get rid of the occupation, these groups of terrorists lose their ground. Some say if the occupation ends, there will be chaos. But we have chaos now."
Insurgents, occupation forces, unemployment, food shortages--all are problematic, but they are not the only challenges the Iraqi people face, Al-Jawhary points out. "There is no good water purification, no good water to drink. The water is turned on two hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.; if you miss it, you miss it. Electricity, only four hours a day. Sewers: instead of treatment, it just goes into the river. If it's raining, we get a flood of black water.
"There is no employment insurance. We have the worst health care ever. It was devastated at the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, and it got worse and worse. These are the living conditions of almost every single worker."
Al-Jawhary gave a heart-breaking example of life in the middle of armed conflict: "A person had a heart attack. He was supposed to go to the hospital. There was no ambulance. There was a curfew. His son tried to get a car or taxi--dangerous at night. The route to the hospital was a dangerous risk. It took four hours to get to the hospital. That guy was dead... That guy was my father. Just fifteen minutes earlier to the hospital, he would be alive."
Survival is the name of the game. While issues like privatization, depleted uranium, corruption and rip-off are well known among Iraqis, they are not priorities, Al-Jawhary said. "Because of violence and security the people are more focused on being careful not to get killed... The people are concentrated on violence in the street. The NGOs [non-governmental organizations] try to treat and get help. For the Iraqi people, we don't have time to think about it."
The insurgents, he insisted, are not of nor wanted by the vast majority of Iraqis: "I want you to go and tell the people there are Iraqis who are progressive, who want to live. It's not needed to show religious fanatics and killers. We never had a tradition of suicide bombers; they came from outside Iraq. [Before the war and occupation] there was not one single incident. Today it is the aftermath..."
To skeptics who say that ending the occupation will result in more instability, Al-Jawhary points out that the people of his country have been tested and toughened in one conflict after the other over the last three decades: wars with Israel and Iran; two wars with the US; civil war with the Kurds; thirteen years of sanctions and hardship; and, now, occupation--all resulting in the deaths of millions, including hundreds of thousands of children.
"I sound so hopeless but we, the workers, will rebuild Iraq," he vowed. "Most of us in Iraq have kids. I have a daughter, 13. Tell the parents: you have kids now, you raise them, you grow them up, bring them to school, give them clothes, food... Our kids deserve to live, they deserve a better life and prosperity. Whether our kids or your kids, both are the same. We want to send them to college or university; we want them to build a life. We don't want them dying. We must bring our kids home. We must end the occupation now."
SIDEBAR: Wisconsin labor calls for end to occupation as AFL-CIO balks
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has passed two resolutions to be introduced to the national federation convention in Chicago at the end of July. The first calls on the AFL-CIO to demand that the government "end the occupation of Iraq, repeal the Patriot Act and reorder priorities to meet national needs," according to state fed president David Newby.
The second, he said, calls for full labor rights in Iraq, nullification of Saddam Hussein's labor laws (which have been enforced by, first, the Coalition Provisional Authority under Paul Bremer and now the Iraq Governing Council), and freedom of expression for labor rights.
Monday night, delegates to the South Central Federation Labor (SCFL) voted unanimously to approve a similar resolution that "calls upon President Bush and Congress to bring our troops home from Iraq and provide veterans with benefits that meet their needs..."
SCFL, said president Jim Cavanaugh, joins a growing number of labor councils and international, national and local unions that will be pressuring the national AFL-CIO at the July convention to take a "strong position" against the occupation.
Cavanaugh also passed around a petition from US Labor Against the War to the AFL-CIO for delegates' signatures--another effort to get the national federation to take a stand on the war and occupation. The petition states in part:
"It is time for labor to speak out! At this time of discussion about renewing our labor movement, how can we not discuss the most urgent issue facing America and its working families? We ask you to put the issue of the war on the agenda of the upcoming Executive Council meeting. And we urge the national leadership of the AFL-CIO to oppose this reckless, illegal and immoral war.
"More specifically, we ask for action on the following proposals by the Executive Council and the quadrennial convention of the AFL-CIO.
The AFL-CIO should demand an immediate end to the US occupation of Iraq and return of U.S. troops to their homes and families, and the reordering of national priorities toward peace and meeting the human needs of our people; and
Through its community service programs, the AFL-CIO and its state and local affiliates should assist union members and their families who are called upon to serve in the armed forces and returning veterans by identifying and providing information about resources and services available to meet their needs, by advocating for their interests, and by protecting their jobs, seniority and benefits and those of unorganized workers in similar circumstances."
The AFL-CIO's virtual silence on the war and occupation has been a source of division among its affiliates. Iraqi union leaders, scheduled to meet with Federation president John Sweeney in Washington, DC early last week, were told the meeting would not take place if it included a representative from US Labor Against the War. The Iraqis said they could not meet with Sweeney without the very people who invited them to the US and organized and paid for their trip. The Fed relented. The meeting went forward, but Sweeney reportedly was either non-committal or non-responsive.
(Kathleen Wilkes is a longtime labor activist and writer; publisher of Two-Headed Alien Shrinks Labor Movement, a collection of labor and political cartoons by Gary Huck and Mike Konopacki; and former communications director of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union.)
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