Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions

Last updated
Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions
ألاتحاد العام لنقابات العمال فى العراق
Merged into2005
Founded2003
Headquarters Baghdad, Iraq
Location
Members
200,000 (2005)
Key people
  • Rasem Hussien Abdullah, president
  • Hadi Saleh, international secretary
  • Abdullah Muhsin, foreign representative (Britain)
Affiliations Iraqi Communist Party
Website Official Website (2006 archive)

The Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) was the largest union federation in Iraq in the first half of the 2000s and, under Decree No. 16 in January 2004, the only one recognized by the Iraqi government. [1] [2] [3] [4] This, along with the organization's alliance with Ayad Allawi's transitional government, many other labor organizations distrusted and criticized the IFTU. [5] In 2005, IFTU claimed 12 national unions and over 200,000 members, though it merged with three other union federations to form the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (also known as the Iraqi Workers' Federation) in 2006. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Contents

History

The IFTU was formed in May 2003 at a conference in Baghdad by 400 union activists who had recently resumed their lives in Iraq after a period of hiding or exile. [6] This occurred after Saddam Hussein was overthrown as the president of Iraq. [11] The organization has roots in the Saddam-era and Ba'ath Party-supported General Federation of Trade Unions and an earlier group also called the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions. [5] The historical IFTU was headed by al-Qadir al-Ayash and Aram Khashadur in the late 1950s, was associated with the Iraqi Communist Party, and was legally affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions. [12] [13] [14]

They supported democratic elections, secularism, and accountable leaders and opposed privatization. [6] [15] [16] [17] By late 2005, IFTU represented supporters of former prime minister Ayad Allawi and some Arab nationalists, though was still largely aligned with the Iraqi Communist Party. [6]

American occupation of Iraq

The IFTU were very critical of American occupation in Iraq; [15] [14] despite this, they were often criticized by other federations for being too supportive of it. [18] [5] [13] Their mixed messaging may have been due to the fact that transitional prime minister Ayad Allawi, who was selected for the role by American occupation officials, had a strong alliance with the IFTU and often showed them favor, including by making them the only governmentally-recognized labor federation in the country. [1] [19]

In 2005, US Labor Against the War (USLAW), a non-governmental, anti-war organization, invited representatives from the IFTU, the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, and the General Union of Oil Employees to speak with a number of Americans opposed to foreign occupation of Iraq. [16] [1] At the end of their tour, USLAW and the union groups made a collective statement in opposition of the privatization of Iraq's economy that came as a consequence of the occupation. [16] However, the IFTU was quick to clarify that they did not approve of the occupation in any way, even with the understanding that without foreign intervention, there was no guarantee for the safety of the Iraqi people. [1]

Perhaps due to its fluctuating disdain for the occupation, the IFTU felt that the United States had a vendetta against them. On December 6, 2003, US forces raided an IFTU-affiliated Transport and Communication Workers' headquarters and arrested eight of its leaders. [20] [21] They detained for one day and released without charge, though the office remained closed until July 2004. [20] [21] [22]

Murders, kidnappings, and other attacks

IFTU's open support of the January 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election, which would elect a new National Assembly of Iraq to write an updated constitution, made the organization a target for attacks, kidnappings, and murders, mostly from insurgents who supported Saddam Hussein. [8]

On November 3, 2004, four railroad workers were killed and mutilated; on December 25, two train engineers were kidnapped and five additional workers were beaten. [8] [7]

On January 4, terrorists believed to be part of the disbanded Mukhabarat broke into the house of IFTU international secretary Hadi Saleh and brutally tortured and murdered him. [7] [23]

On January 26, IFTU's Mosul president Saady Edan was kidnapped and tortured before being released six days later with the express warning to cease his work with the IFTU. [24] On January 27, Talib Khadim Al Tayee, president of the IFTU-affiliated Mechanics', Metalworkers', and Printworkers' Union, was kidnapped during a meeting with union members. [6] [25] [26] He was released five days later on February 1. [27] On February 11, Moaid Hamed, who worked as the general secretary for IFTU's Mosul branch, was kidnapped as he left his home. [7] He was released 14 days later. [6] [25]

On February 18, Ali Hassan Abd (also known as Abu Fahad) was gunned down while walking home with his children from the al-Daura oil refinery where he worked. [6] [28] He was a member of leadership in IFTU's oil union. [7] [25] [23] On February 24, Ahmed Adrid Abbas was also shot and killed. [6] [28] [16] [23]

The violence against those affiliated with IFTU did not end after IFTU dissolved; in June 2006, IFTU co-founder Shukry Al Shakhly, was murdered. [23] [29]

Merger

In September 2005, IFTU announced it was merging with the General Federation of Trade Unions and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions to create a new organization called the General Federation of Iraqi Workers or the Iraqi Workers' Federation. [18] [2] [20] [10] [29] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Confederation of Free Trade Unions</span> International trade union federation

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) to form the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi National Congress</span> Political party in Iraq

The Iraqi National Congress is an Iraqi political party that was led by Ahmed Chalabi who died in 2015. It was formed as an umbrella opposition group with the aid and direction of the United States' government following the Persian Gulf War, for the purpose of fomenting the overthrow of longtime Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi National Accord</span> Political party in Iraq

The Iraqi National Accord, known inside Iraq as Wifaq, is an Iraqi political party founded by Iyad Allawi, Tahsin Muallah and Salah Omar al-Ali in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Garner</span> United States Army general and United States Marine

Jay Montgomery Garner is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who in 2003 was appointed as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, making him the immediate replacement of Saddam Hussein as the de facto head of state of Iraq. Garner was soon replaced by Ambassador Paul Bremer and the ambassador's successor organization to ORHA, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayad Allawi</span> Prime Minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005

Ayad Allawi is an Iraqi politician. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and the president of the Governing Council of Iraq in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mowaffak al-Rubaie</span> Iraqi politician

Mowaffak Baker al-Rubaie is an Iraqi politician, and was Iraq National Security Advisor in the government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and in 2005–2006 Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari and 2006–2009 Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He was elected to the Iraqi Council of Representatives in December 2005 as a nominee of the United Iraqi Alliance and from 2014–2018 in the Iraqi Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Allawi</span> Iraqs Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister

Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi was Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Communist Party</span> Political party in Iraq

The Iraqi Communist Party is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the left in Iraqi politics. It played a prominent role in shaping the political history of Iraq between its foundation and the 1970s. The Party was involved in many of the most important national uprisings and demonstrations of the 1940s and 1950s. It suffered heavily under the Ba'ath Party and Saddam Hussein but remained an important element of the Iraqi opposition and was a vocal opponent of the United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War of 1991. It opposed the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 but since then has participated in the new political institutions. It received little support in the Iraqi general elections of 2005. The party gained some seats in each province in which the 2013 Iraqi governorate elections were held.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)</span> Sectarian/anti-government warfare in American-occupied Iraq

An Iraqi insurgency began shortly after the 2003 American invasion deposed longtime leader Saddam Hussein. It is considered to have lasted until the end of the Iraq War and U.S. withdrawal in 2011. It was followed by a renewed insurgency.

Hazim al-Shaalan al-Khuzaei was Iraq's Defence Minister from June 2004 until May 2005 under the Iraqi Interim Government of Ayad Allawi.

Under the Iraqi constitution of 1925, Iraq was a constitutional monarchy, with a bicameral legislature consisting of an elected House of Representatives and an appointed Senate. The lower house was elected every four years by manhood suffrage. The first Parliament met in 1925. Ten general elections were held before the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958.

The General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) was a major federation of trade unions in Iraq prior to 2005, when it merged with the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions to the General Federation of Iraqi Workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Accord Front</span> Political party in Iraq

The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election. As a large section of Iraq's Sunnis are composed by the populous Kurds, situated in northern Iraq and locally autonomous, the party's members are mostly Arab, and as such, its political efforts have largely been focused on protecting this community's interests as opposed to Iraq's non-Sunni population. In the 2005 election, its platform called for ending the US occupation of Iraq, revision of the new Iraqi constitution, repeal of the de-Ba'athification laws that had cost many Sunnis their government jobs and the restoration of the Iraqi Army, which was dissolved after the US overthrow of Saddam Hussein and which had a Sunni dominated officer corps. Despite this, the party has maintained that it is non-secular, even though the Ba'ath Party contained many prominent Sunnis.

Founded in October 2005 from unions that had begun organizing after the invasion, the Federation of Oil Unions of Iraq is the largest independent union consortium in Iraq, with tens of thousands of members. It fully opposed the American occupation of Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq</span>

The Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) is the second largest union federation in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thamir Ghadhban</span> Iraqi politician

Thamir Abbas Ghadhban is an Iraqi civil servant and politician.

Safia Taleb Ali al-Suhail is an Iraqi politician who currently serves as an Ambassador of Iraq to Saudi Arabia, having previously served as the ambassador to Italy and Jordan. She was appointed the first female ambassador of Iraq in Oman in 2004, and she held important political and diplomatic positions in the country, including: a member of the Iraqi parliament for two parliamentary sessions on the capital Baghdad in the period 2005-2014, and the head of the Europe Department in the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2014-2016, and the ambassador of the Republic of Iraq. To the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the period 2016-2019 ”, She was a former member of the Council of Representatives of Iraq who was elected in December 2005 for the secular Iraqi National List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Federation of Trade Unions</span>

The International Federation of Trade Unions was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war IFTU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraq–Palestine relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between the Arab Republic of Iraq and State of Palestine have historically been close, with Palestinian Liberation Organization supported by the Ba'athist Iraqi regime during the second half of the 20th century, and vice versa, Iraqi Ba'athist regime supported by PLO leadership during the Gulf War. The State of Palestine has an embassy and consulate in Baghdad and Erbil accordingly, but Iraq doesn't have an embassy in Palestine.

Malas Mohammad Abdulkarim al-Husseini al-Kasnazani is an Iraqi politician who was the Trade Minister from September 2014 until December 2015 under Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Leyshon, Traven; Feeley, Dianne (2005). "Solidarity with Iraqi Labor". Against the Current. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  2. 1 2 "2010 Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights - Iraq". The UN Refugee Agency. International Trade Union Confederation. 2010-06-09. Archived from the original on 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  3. ↑ "Worldwide". International Union Rights. 11 (1): 26–27. 2004. JSTOR   41936194 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  4. ↑ "2Interim Report - Report No 338, November 2005". International Labour Organization. 2004-05-15. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  5. 1 2 3 Hyland, Julie (2004-11-25). "How Britain's trade unions support occupation of Iraq". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bacon, David (2005-09-01). "Between soldiers and bombs: Iraq's fledgling labor movement". Multinational Monitor. 26 (9/10): 37–40. ProQuest   208877592 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Iraq: Assassinations and kidnappings of several trade unionists". OMCT. 2005-02-28. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  8. 1 2 3 Muhsin, Abdullah (2005-04-22). "We are building a democratic Iraq". Blackpool Tribune. 69 (16): 10–11. ProQuest   1851590677 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  9. 1 2 Bacon, David (2010-08-31). "Is U.S. Pulling Plug on Iraqi Workers?". Labor Notes. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  10. 1 2 Lydersen, Kari (2010-07-26). "Iraqi Electricity Union Offices Raided Under Minister's Draconian Decree". In These Times. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  11. ↑ Bader-Blau, Shawna (2007). "Iraqi unions vs Big Oil". Middle East Report (243): 16–21. JSTOR   25164787 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  12. ↑ Beling, Willard A. (1961). "Political Trends in Arab Labor". Middle East Journal. 15 (1): 29–39. JSTOR   4323315 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  13. 1 2 "Iraq's third big issue". Independent Labour Publications. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  14. 1 2 Ramadani, Sami (2004-10-26). "Collaboration won't buy Iraq's freedom". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  15. 1 2 Bacon, David (2005). "Unions at war". International Union Rights. 12 (3): 19–20. JSTOR   41937383 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Bacon, David (September 2005). "Iraqi labor facing occupation, insurgency: An update". Dollars & Sense (261): 14–15. Retrieved 2021-07-04. – via  EBSCO 's Academic Search Complete (subscription required)
  17. ↑ Harwood, Matthew (April 2005). "Pinkertons at the CPA". Washington Monthly. 37 (4): 24–27. Retrieved 2021-07-05. – via  EBSCO 's Academic Search Complete (subscription required)
  18. 1 2 Letwin, Michael (2007-06-05). "General Federation of Iraqi Workers — Against the Occupation of Iraq?". MR Online. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  19. ↑ al-Ansary, Khalid (2009-01-03). "U.S.-installed Iraqi ex-PM says Bush "utter failure"". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  20. 1 2 3 "Ictur in action: Interventions". International Centre for Trade Union Rights. 11 (1): 14–15. 2004. JSTOR   41936188 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  21. 1 2 Bacon, David (2004). "Privatized Iraq: Imposed economic and social policies raise human rights questions". Race, Poverty & the Environment. 11 (1): 46–49. JSTOR   41554428 . Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  22. ↑ "IFTU resolves to reclaim Baghdad office". LabourNet UK. Iraq Solidarity Campaign. 2004-08-04. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Book Celebrates Determined Comrades Fighting for Free Iraqi Trade Unions". IndustriALL Global Union. 2006-08-07. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  24. ↑ "Another Iraqi Trade Unionist Kidnapped". Scoop. Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions. 2005-02-21. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  25. 1 2 3 "Statement of the World Organisation Against Torture" (PDF). OMCT. 2005-06-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  26. ↑ "Iraqi trade unionist kidnapped". Workers' Liberty. 2005-01-29. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  27. ↑ "Kidnapped Iraqi Trade Union Leader Free". IndustriALL Global Union. 2005-07-19. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  28. 1 2 "Iraq: Murder of union member in Baghdad". Scoop. Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions. 2005-03-02. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  29. 1 2 "Workers Blood For Oil". Workers Online. 2006. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.