3-27-09, 9:37 am
Original source: UnionBook
The Iraqi Teachers’ Union is facing extreme attack from the Iraqi Government. The Iraqi government has appointed an official body and granted it the authority to take over the union. This government body demanded that the leadership of the union must hand over the keys to its headquarters along with membership and other records.
The government claims it wants the union to hold national election and that the current leadership are not allowed to stand for re-election again.
It is worth to note that the ITU has already held two national conferences since 2003 with a third emergency conference in late 2007 to elect a new president, brother Jasim Al lami.
This is clear violation and interference in the internal democratic affairs of the union by the current Iraqi government. The ITU leadership has refused to hand over the union and is ready to struggle to preserve the independence of the ITU. The leadership of the union said they will hand over the union only to a newly elected leadership at in open national conference organized by the ITU. The ITU leadership, because of its firm but principled position, is under the threat of prison sentence.
The Iraqi government has continued to be hostile to free trade unionism, despite the huge support it received from the unions in Iraq ever since 2003. The Iraqi government not only refused to abolish Saddam’s Hussein restrictive anti union law but in fact it has used against the Iraqi nascent democratic unions, reluctant to enact an internationally recognized labor code but further it issued in 2005 another restrictive Order that took over the assets and monies of the unions.
The Iraqi trade union movement (the General Federation of Iraqi Workers GFIW) has submitted complaint against the Iraqi Government to the International Labor Organization (ILO) and I believe the ILO has censured the Iraqi government over its violation of trade unions rights in Iraq and called on the government to back off and hence allow the unions in Iraq to organize openly and freely.
The current attempts by the Iraqi government to take over the union are not just illegitimate and unacceptable but blatant interference and are a clear violation of the Iraqi constitution that guarantees workers the right to organize.
The ITU will resort to all means and activities guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution to defend its right to organize teachers openly and freely.
The ITU will organize protests, strikes and file law suits against all these undemocratic procedures that are dictatorial inspired culture.
The ITU held a national protest in central Baghdad on 21 March 2009 to highly the issues is facing but has unfortunately been subjugated to abuses by the Iraqi security forces. The ITU while deplores and condemns the practice of the security forces is adamant to carry on with struggle and hence is organizing another national protest with major demonstration in central Baghdad on 28 March 2009. The ITU is calling on trade unions supporters across the glob to raise their voices against these undemocratic practices by the elected government of Iraq.
Express your support for Iraqi teachers by writing to the Iraqi government to oppose its takeover of the union here.
--Abdullah Muhsin is the British representative of the Iraqi Teachers Union, which is affiliated with the General Federation of Iraqi Workers.
