Former MP and LFIQ Joint President Harry Barnes reflects on his time as a soldier in Iraq and the changing face of the Iraqi labour movement

Labour Friends of Iraq congratulates Harry on being awarded honorary life membership of the Iraqi trade union movement as a recognition of his long-standing work in support of the movement.

50 years ago I undertook my National Service in Iraq. I mentioned this to Geoff Hoon during the recent invasion of Iraq. As he was the Secretary of State for Defence at the time, I was taken aback by the question he then asked: "Harry, what on earth were British Troops doing in Iraq in the mid-l950s ?"

I had assumed that Geoff would have been briefed on the history of Britain in Iraq as part of the key background to the main area of his Ministerial duties at that time. But it seems not.

A brief answer to his question is that Britain administered Iraq under a League of Nations mandate from the time of the country’s formation in 1916, until l932. Afterwards, apart from a short hiccup during the Second World War, Britain remained the dominant influence until a popular army revolution overthrew Iraq's puppet-like monarchy in 1958.

When I arrived in Iraq in 1955, two major air force bases and a small movements unit were still British Crown Territory. Britain's role is illustrated by the fact that a major military force in the country were the Iraqi Levies, who had British Officers.

The status of the RAF's bases was changed later that year under the provisions of the Baghdad Pact. The Levies were disbanded and most of them then joined the Iraqi Army; although Britain continued to train and equip them. Within two years these former Levies would partake in the revolution and Britain's influence would be on its way out. (Although it has now been re-established by Tony Blair.)

I served in the movements unit at Basra. But unlike today’s British troops in the area, I had the good luck to hear only one shot fired in anger - and no-one was hurt. Yet although I worked closely with Iraqi State Railways, it was only later in life that I discovered that Iraq had a proud Trade Union tradition - especially in the railways. But we all need to learn.

Indeed the first permanent labour organisation was founded in 1929 as the Artisans’ Association, attracting workers from the railway and defence workshops in Baghdad. It organised a successful 14 day General Strike in 1931 against increases in the municipal rates.

Although Trade Unions continued to face bans and other oppression, they grew especially with the industrial developments in the Ports and Oilfields. A high water mark (until recently) arrived following Iraq's revolution of 1958, with a major role being played by the Iraqi General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). Its 51 affiliated bodies had a membership of 275,000; with Communists being elected in the following year to all 10 seats on its Executive seats.

They helped organise a May Day Demonstration in Baghdad with over 500,000 on the march out of a widely spread population of only 6.5 million. Unfortunately there was soon a series of coups within the initial revolution. Saddam Hussein eventually came to power and banned Trade Unionism within his rapidly expanding State Sector. Private Sector Trade Unionism was only allowed to operate through what was now a rigidly controlled GFTU. This enabled Saddam Hussein to have access to the Arab Federation of Trade Unions, whilst ensuring that his own restricted workers' movement operated on the pattern established in Germany by Hitler.

Those attempting to keep the aspirations of a democratic Trade Union and Labour Movement alive either operated in a clandestine fashion in Iraq or were obliged to flee overseas. Great numbers were captured, tortured and murdered.

When the American and British invasion took place, trade unionism immediately re-emerged into the open. In the Kurdish areas where Saddam Hussein's writ had earlier been restricted, labour organisations had already grown and flourished. The rest of Iraq now saw a quick but mixed pattern emerging.

The GFTU has remained in existence, now mainly restricted to Ramadi. Otherwise it has an unpopular image to overcome from its Baathist days.

An independent body broke away from the GFTU in the South and is known as the GFITU. But the quickest and widest groups to emerge have been the Teachers Union and the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), who work closely together.

The Teachers' Union organises throughout Iraq, with a total of 400,000 members. The IFTU has 13 affiliated Trade Unions in areas such as Oil and Gas, Railways and Aviation, Transport and Communications, Construction and Wood Workers, Electricians, Agriculture and Irrigation and the Service Industry. It has over 200,000 members.

Fraternal and close working links exist amongst the Kurdish Trade Unions, the IFTU and the Teachers. A recent development seeks to extend the links.

The Arab Federation of Trade Unions will only recognise one Trade Union Federation and have asked the IFTU, the GFTU and the GFITU to combine for this purpose. On 19/20 September an agreement was reached by the three bodies to set up an Iraqi Workers Federation (IWF). Moves are in hand to survey the structures of component bodies and their membership as a means to establishing an overall democratic system with a newly elected collective Executive.

If the IWF is successful then it will be in a position to work closely with the Teachers and Kurdish Unions as sister organisations and encourage either affiliations or other forms of association from other independent unions.

Trade Unions always need to pressurise Governments. The new Iraqi Government will be pressed into ending the freeze on the assets of civil society organisations introduced by the transitional Government. This is in breach of the relevant ILO Convention and undermines effective Trade Union activity.

But it isn't just officialdom that presents problems. Trade Unionists are also under direct threats and attacks from terrorists. This is because Trade Unionists stand for democracy, federalism, secular values, civil rights, gender and ethnic equality, tolerance and the rejection of Baathism. The brutal murder of Hadi Saleh, the International Secretary of the IFTU is a harrowing illustration of this point.

His work helped significantly to establish International Trade Union recognition of the work of the Iraqi Trade Union Movement. When I was an MP, I was privileged to meet Hadi Saleh in the Commons and Chair a meeting in which he talked of his hopes for the future for the Iraqi people. I'm now proud to have been made an honorary life member of the IFTU, which he fought and died for.

There is much work to be done in the British Labour Movement for our Iraqi comrades. For it isn't just Geoff Hoon who has lacked a sense of Iraq's Labour History - or myself when I was 18. Another former leadership figure in the Labour Party once responded to me by saying "Oh! There are Trade Unions in Iraq are they ?" Oh! Indeed.