IFTU: "the official union" of Iraq?

A Feb. 9, 2004 release from the IFTU (Iraq Federation of Trade Unions) celebrates official recognition:

Decree No 16 2004 (28 January), issued by IGC President
Adnan Pachachi, says that the IFTU and its President, Mr
Rasem Hussein Abdullah are “the legitimate and legal
representatives of the labour movement in Iraq.”

But a note attached (by the editors of website for US Labor Against the War?) says:

[Note: IFTU is not the only new federation in Iraq.
The Iraqi Workers and Unions Council has also been
organizing workplaces and also established Union of
the Unemployed in Iraq. It remains to be seen whether
this federation will also receive recognition, will merge
with the IFTU or will contest for representation even
without formal recognition.]

Source:
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=3068
———————————————————-

On May 8, 2004 USLAW co-convenor Gene Bruskin explained why his group is backing a complaint by the Union of Unemployed in Iraq (UUI) and Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) against IFTU recognition as “the” state-approved union for Iraq.

“we don’t think that any government should have the right to pick and choose which unions should represent workers.”

Source:
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=4858
———————————————————-

I have emailed the IFTU:

Dear Mr. Abdullah Muhsin,

I have recently published an article sympathetic to
the UUI/FWCUI petition forthcoming at the ILO
conference.

The article has attracted more interest than I
expected, and I would like to follow up with an
article that gives more explicit consideration to the
IFTU side of the story.

I would appreciate any materials that you could
provide in that respect.

My overall interest in these matters is to help
American readers understand the possibilities of
“alternative politics” in Iraq, i.e. something besides
a politics of war. In this respect, the political
quest for worker’s rights interests me as an issue
foundational to a nonviolent future.

Comments

Leave a comment