[RSCT] Iraq: Teachers union faces threat of government takeover

[S. Kashdan]

Iraq: Teachers union faces threat of government takeover



LabourStart, Mar 27, 2009



http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=491



Act NOW!



Iraq: Teachers union faces threat of government takeover



The Iraqi Teachers' Union is under attack from the Iraqi Government. The 
government has authorized an official body to take over the union under the 
pretext of forcing the union to hold elections. It is worth noting that the 
ITU has already held several national conferences since 2003 and had elected 
an ITU leadership openly and democratically. The government attempts are 
illegitimate, unacceptable and a blatant violation and interference in the 
internal democratic affairs of the union. They also violate the Iraqi 
constitution which guarantees workers the right to organize. The ITU 
leadership has refused to hand over the union and is ready to struggle to 
preserve the independence of the ITU. Because of this, its leaders are under 
the threat of arrest. The ITU is organizing another national protest with 
major demonstration in central Baghdad on 28 March 2009 and it needs your 
solidarity and 
support. --------------------------------------------------------------



Go to the URL above to send a message protesting this undemocratic move. 
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"I call upon the Iraqi government to cease its interference in the internal 
affairs of the Iraqi Teachers Union."



Iraqi Government tries to seize control of teacher union



Posted on March 6, 2009 by dsalaborblogmoderator



Labour Friends of Iraq



TUC calling for protests



The TUC [Trades Union Congress-the British national labour center], has 
called for protests to be aimed at the Iraqi Embassy in London over attempts 
by the Iraqi Government to seize control of the Iraqi Teachers Union (ITU).



Urging trade union members to email their protest to the Iraqi Ambassador, 
the Chair of the TUC Iraq Solidarity Committee and Treasurer of teacher 
union NASUWT Sue Rogers said:



‘The Iraqi Government is acting like Saddam Hussein, treating unions as the 
property of the state. Iraqi trade unionists and teacher trade unions around 
the world are outraged at this latest attempt to seize control of our sister 
union.



‘The Government has demanded that the union hand over the keys to its 
buildings, its membership lists, and is demanding that the existing leaders 
stand down or face jail sentences of three to seven years despite doing 
nothing wrong. This is a breach of fundamental human and trade union rights. 
The Iraqi Government must not be allowed to act in this dictatorial way.’



Sue Rogers is leading a TUC delegation at a workshop in Erbil, Iraq for 
trade union leaders from all over Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. Yesterday Iraqi 
trade unions issued a joint statement of solidarity with the ITU, who have 
angered some in the Iraqi administration by securing substantial pay rises 
for teachers after a series of strikes and demonstrations last year.



The statement, signed by the leaders of the main Iraqi trade union 
confederation and the two Kurdish confederations, as well as the Kurdish 
Teachers Union and the powerful oil unions of Southern Iraq, appears in the 
Notes to Editors below.



ITU President Jasim al-Lami, who has been invited to the NASUWT conference 
this April, was yesterday travelling back from the workshop to meet with 
Ministers in Baghdad. Mr al-Lami was jailed for six years in Abu Ghraib 
under Saddam Hussein and says he is ready to face jail again to defend his 
union.



Protests by global trade unions have already been lodged with the 
International Labour Organisation which last year censured Iraq for its 
anti-union laws, some of which have been left over from Saddam Hussein. The 
TUC has also written to Ministers in the UK.



Erbil Declaration of Solidarity with the Iraqi teachers’ union



We, the leaders of the trade union movement throughout Iraq including Iraqi 
Kurdistan meeting with our international colleagues in Erbil, condemn the 
harassment and threats directed at the Iraqi Teachers’ Union and their 
democratically-elected leaders.



This action is an attack on fundamental human rights and contrary to your 
Government’s obligation to uphold the ILO core conventions, including 
Convention 87 on Freedom of Association.



We call on the Iraqi Government to respect the right of the Iraqi Teachers’ 
Union to decide its own leadership in accordance with its own rules. We call 
on you to withdraw your threats to imprison Iraqi Teachers’ Union leaders 
and to desist from your attempts to seize the assets, membership lists and 
documentation of the Iraqi Teachers’ Union.



We reject your attempt to seize the union and express our solidarity with 
the membership and leadership of the Iraqi Teachers’ Union.



Failure to respond positively can only result in a major campaign across 
Iraq and around the world to highlight your Government’s appalling action.



We are copying this letter to the President and Prime Minister of Iraq and 
making it public.



Signed by



General Federation of Iraqi Workers



Kurdistan Workers Union



General Workers and Crafts Syndicate Union of Kurdistan



Kurdistan Journalists Union/Iraq



Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions



Kurdistan Teachers Union/Iraq





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I call upon the Iraqi government to cease its interference in the internal 
affairs of the Iraqi Teachers Union.



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