Thursday, June 05, 2008

TUC Condemns the Iraqi Government

At a meeting at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the British Trade Union Congress (TUC) has made the following devastating five-point criticism of the Iraqi Government's treatment of their nation's Trade Union Movement.

The Iraqi Government are -

1. Using Saddam Hussein's laws to ban public sector trade unionism.

2. Introducing a new law to freeze union bank accounts and allow the government to interfere in union internal affairs.

3. Repeatedly failing to adopt an ILO-compliant labour law for several years to replace the anti-union Decrees.

4. Demanding elections inside Iraqi unions this summer on the government's terms, including disenfranchising public sector workers, prohibiting non-Iraqi citizens from standing for elections, and requiring candidates to secure the support of their employers.

5. Relocating leaders of an Iraqi oil union specifically to disrupt the union which has consistently opposed oil privatisation.


Here is the full report from the TUC.

If anyone spots a report of this in the British Mass Media, please let me know. It is, however, likely to make tomorrow's "Morning Star" and hopefully "Tribune" as they try to stir the conscience of the nation.

It should be noted that none of the five points apply to the Trade Union Movement in Iraqi Kurdistan, where federal powers are used in an entirely different way.

3 comments:

ModernityBlog said...

harry,

thanks for the info

btw, Edwards seems a more likely VP for Obama, Mrs. Clinton is too much a political hack and would be vying for the main job if she was made VP, which seems unlikely

Harry Barnes said...

Modernityblog: Note, the thread on Edwards was the last one!

When I retired as MP I kept away for 3 years (until now) from Constituency Party meetings to give my successor a clear run. I think that even a President of the USA should have this and not be cramped by an ex-President's wife and also indirectly by an ex-President. So the Clinton's are the last people who should be Barack's running mates. On the potentials see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7438454.stm

ModernityBlog said...

absolutely, Harry

with Mrs. Clinton as VP, Obama would be forever wondering what that pain between his shoulder blades was?

VPs in the US tended to compliment the Pres. (or would be) in terms of widening electoral support (in older times, one takes the north, the other the south)

politically, Obama needs someone with money, support and machinery in the South

so we'll see