Seventy per cent of Iraqi workers — about 10 million people — are unemployed. Many are now organising in the Unemployed Union of Iraq. In February, the UUI appointed Jalal Mohamad its official representative in Australia. Socialist Alliance member Janet Burstall spoke to Mohamad about the situation.Mohamad has lived in Australia since 1996. Before that, he had worked for over 20 years building the left in northern Iraq, writing for underground publications about the workers' movement. He was jailed by the Baath regime for over two years.
Jalal spent two months late last year in Basra. His aim was to help strengthen the working-class movement in Iraq. "I worked with two unions in particular, the Southern Oil Workers Union and the construction union...
"On my second day in Basra, I met up with a demonstration of unemployed workers. The organisers of that demonstration agreed to form a sub-committee for the purpose of building a branch of the UUI." The UUI has since grown there.
In January, four unemployed workers were killed during a protest demanding jobs or social security. "The unemployed workers were shot by British forces and local Islamic groups. Since then, I have heard that the British forces and some Islamic groups are working together in secret. There have been kidnappings of left and worker activists.
"There are many other unions in Basra, for teachers, journalists and writers, with which I developed strong relations. Since I left Basra I have heard that they held a demonstration of thousands for human rights, women's rights, workers' rights and for political freedom."
"The most successful union is the Southern Oil Company union with about 19,000 members and seven sub-committees. Hassan Juma is the leader and it grows every day. The latest news is they won an increase in their minimum wage.
"In Iraq there are three union federations. One is led by Salman Al Jiboorei, who was a Baathist. He has very few supporters, because he was at the head of the Baathist Workers' Federation and he has the support of the Iraqi Governing Council.
"The second federation is the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, which has the support of the Communist Party of Iraq. This is organised from the top down, it is mainly a committee from the top with no clear demands for workers.
"The third federation is the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions and Worker Councils (GFTU), which is being built from the bottom up. It includes the Southern Oil Union, construction unions from Basra, vegetable oilworkers from Baghdad, the Northern Oil Company union, leather unions, a sugar company union and the textile workers union (which is very large with a long history), as well as the UUI."
The GFTU has a new newspaper called Workers' Councils.
"The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions sent a delegation to Iraq in December. They said that they support the GFTU and the UUI. They observed elections in some factories. They held a separate meeting in Amman in Jordan with all three federations, and listened to representatives from each one. They said they will send their findings to the international headquarters to decide what support the ICFTU can give", Mohamed explained.
When asked what support unions wanted, Mohamad was unambiguous. "We want support for our demands, for recognition of our unions, for progressive labour laws, for social security for the unemployed of $100 per month or a job. We would welcome financial support for the non-Baathist unions, and we will welcome visits from unionists who have opposed the war on Iraq so that they can see for themselves the problems of the workers' movement in Iraq."
[Mohamad will be speaking at a public forum at 3.30pm on March 20 at Sydney's Gaelic Club, to discuss solidarity with unions in Iraq. Other speakers include Layla Mohammed from the Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq, Kassim Aboud from the Communist Party of Iraq, Greens Senator Kerry Nettle, construction union organiser Karen Iles and it will be moderated by Janet Burstall from Workers Liberty. Email <contact@workersliberty.org> for more details.]
From Green Left Weekly, March 17, 2004.
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