Iraqi Association Condemns Militias

Jabbar Hasan the director of the Iraqi Association has responded to the 23rd November attack: Sadistic terrorist crimes in Iraq must inspire us to work unceasingly together in pursuit of peace, justice and respect for differences. Dissolving militias will ease the tension, which will equally break the cycle of foreign terrorists and pave the way for peace.

Campaigning for free unions in Iraq

Abdullah Muhsin the international representative of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) called on the Iraqi government to abolish the 1987 law passed by the toppled Saddam regime and to implement the new labour code for workers. He said Saddam’s law of 1987 which effectively banned trade unions in the public sector has still not been abolished. He also called for the repeal of code 8750 passed by the former Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim Jafari saying it froze rights of workers. “The trade union movement in Iraq is besieged in some sense,” he said Muhsin said the IFTU which … Continue reading Campaigning for free unions in Iraq

Neglected nurses fight their own war

Iraq is suffering a dearth of nurses. Those who could afford to have already fled to neighbouring countries. Those with working husbands stay at home, afraid of the escalating violence. But the rest must soldier on in their fight against fear and poverty.

Response to news of troop withdrawal timetable

Handing over control to Iraqi security forces is excellent news but grassroots solidarity remains pressing. More should support the TUC appeal for second hand mobiles for Iraqi union organisers and emulate, for example, Unison and the Fire Brigades Union in providing practical and moral solidarity to unions whose growth after having been pulverised by Saddam Hussein is an inspiration and whose consciously non-sectarian approach could do much to build a democratic, federal and pluralist Iraq. Gary Kent Director Labour Friends of Iraq

FBU protest

The Fire Brigades Union has protested against the accidental killing of 4 firefighters in Fallujah by US troops.

Ann Clwyd in America

Ann Clwyd has emphasised after a speech at Wellesley College near Boston that an early withdrawal of troops from Iraq would accelerate rights abuses against ordinary Iraqis and that the Iraqi government should press harder to investigate police abuses, weed out corruption and free thousands of mostly Sunni prisoners in Iraqi prisons.

UK unions stand in solidarity with Iraqi workers and educationalists

The TUC has issued a message of solidarity from Brendan Barber. Responding to the kidnapping of Ministry of Education officials in Baghdad this week (not all of whom have been released as yet), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has sent the following message of solidarity with Iraqi workers and teachers. ‘This cowardly attack on some of the people most involved in keeping the education system going is a terrible reminder of the persistent persecution being suffered by workers and academics in Iraq. Workers in the education sector are in the front line, facing intimidation, harassment and sometimes death, all for … Continue reading UK unions stand in solidarity with Iraqi workers and educationalists