Iraqi Oil Unions

Please send emails to Maliki and Sharastani, model letter at end of this email:

Maliki to Negotiate with Oil Union - Northern and Central Unions will Strike in Solidarity

For Immediate Release:Monday May 14thOil Strike Postponed for Negotiations with Prime Minister.The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions has postponed its’ strike for thisweek.A 7-member delegation from the IFOU will meet with Prime MinisterNourial Maliki in Baghdad tomorrow to continue negotiations.The delegation is set to return on Thursday when, if negotiations havefailed to bear fruit, a new strike date will be set.Union President Hassan Jumaa said that unions in the Northern OilCompanyin Kirkuk, and the Mechanics and Engineers Union and Dora Refinery Union in Baghdad are ready to take solidarity strike action with the IFOU.

‘Members were balloted and have decided to take action with us if westrike’.The Union, representing 26,000 workers, has held three previous strikes since 2003, each time stopping exports, for up to two days at a time.TheIraqi government has declared strike action by the Union as illegal.Speaking from Basra today, union President Hassan Jumaa Awad said,

‘We are working within the law. We are not afraid of arrest and imprisonmentbecause we know we have both the legal and the moral right inthisdispute. We are asking all unions and organisations which believeinhuman rights to stand with us and support us in our legitimatedemands’.

The Union’s demands range from a restoration of a bonus scheme, landforhomes, approval of outstanding holidays and full time statusfortemporary workers, to a long-held and reiterated demand for inclusioninconsultation over the country’s oil law.

Further demands includegovernment action against price rises because of their detrimentalimpact on all citizens (not just oil workers) and medical treatment foroil workers especially in areas affected by depleteduranium).Seewww.basraoiluion.org for more details.The current draft of the Oil law proposes giving multinational companiesthe primary role in developing Iraq's huge untapped oilfields, undercontracts lasting up to 30 years. Oil production in Iraq, like in most of the Middle East, has been in the public sector since the 1970s.The Union recently addressed the US Congress and European Parliaments ina letter asking them not to link withdrawal with the passing of the oillaw. In it Hassan Jumaa Awad said: ‘We ask our friends not to linkwithdrawal with the oil law, especially since the USA claimed that itcame to Iraq as a liberator and not in order to control Iraq’sresources.The general public in Iraq is totally convinced that Bush wants to rushthe promulgation of the oil law so as to be leaving Iraq with avictoryof sorts, because his project is failing every day and theoccupation is collapsing in all parts of Iraq.’ Seehttp://priceofoil.org/ for a full translation.The proposed strike is the culmination of 4 years of campaigning onmembers’ issues involving protests, strikes and worker-lead lock-outs.In a communiqué announcing the strike, the Union declared:

‘Our demands for entitlements were ignored despite four years of continued promisesby ministry and government officials…throughout this period we worked todiffuse anger and resentment and address criticism levelled by ourmembers who mistakenly thought of us as the ones failing to put forththeir legitimate demands…enough is enough’.The number of death threats against union leaders has escalated sincethe strike was first declared, said Hasan Jumaa Awad.

"As soon as thefederation called for the strike, many of our members and officials werephysically threatened by parties active in the political process,withthe aim of thwarting the strike and undermining the message of thestrike organisers." The Union is taking these threats seriously.Ewa Jasiewicz of the IFOU support committee ‘Naftana’ said: ‘This is adefining moment in the union’s history and in Iraq’s history. The unionis likely to encounter repression over its’ decision to strike –particularly over its position on the oil law. The world needs to bewatching this dispute’.

ContactsHassan Jumaa Awad Al Assadi, President of the Iraqi Federationof OilUnions 00964 7801 001 196 or 00964 7804 114 619www.basraoilunion.orgSami Ramadani, lecturer and writer and member of Naftana - UKSupportCommittee for the IFOU 0044 7863 138 748sami.ramadani@londonmet.ac.ukEwa Jasiewicz, Naftana UK Support Group for the IFOU

Hands OffIraqiOil Campaign 0044 7749 421 576 freelance@mailworks.orgwww.handsoffiraqioil.orgNotesThe Hands Off Iraqi Oil Campaign is holding a protest in solidarity withthe IFOU and over Shell’s involvement in the Oil Law tomorrow at Shell’sAGM. 8.30am-12pm at the Hammersmith Novotel, 1 Shortlands, London W6The IFOU is an independent trade union representing workers across4southern provinces in Iraq: Misan, Dhi Qar, Basra and Mauthanna innineoil and gas related companies.The Union has been organizing since April 2003 and has stopped oilexports and production over wages and workers rights in the past. It has also held protests against oil smuggling, former regime bosses andwhatthe union sees as the deliberate neglect and degradation of theindustry in order to justify private investment.Union members have carried out reconstruction work on drilling rigs,portequipment, pipelines and refineries since the invasion with minimal,mostly local resources.The Union is not linked to any political party inIraq but has memberswhich belong to various parties.The Union enjoys the support of trade unions and civil societyorganizations around the world including the International Confederationof Energy, Mining and General Workers Union (ICEM), the AFL-CIO in theUS, and the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) in the UK including the NUJ andTGWU. The union is partnered with UK development charity War on Want,the3 milllion strong US Labor Against War in the USA, and Italian NGO UnPonte Per.

**********************************************************************************************************************Model Letter:Dear Mr MalikiDear Dr Hussein al Sharastani

I am writing to express support for the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions in their right to take industrial action over issues relating to theirmembers' economic and social welfare.I am also concerned that the union has recieved death threats fordeciding to take strike action and that the authorities have alsothreatened legal action. I trust that the Union will not be penalised for taking action which is legal according to the Iraqi constiution anda fundamental trade union freedom recognised all over the world.

The Union has repeatedly asked for involvement in the drafting of theHydrocarbon Law but has been ignored. Iraqi civil society should beinvolved in the decision making process over the future of the Iraqieconomy - this includes trade unions.I will be monitoring the forthcoming news from the union and would likeassurance that union members will not be harmed or punished for theiractions.

Yours Sincerely,.....

Prime Minister Nouri Al MalikiMinister of Oil, Dr Hussein al SharastaniC/OEmbassy of the Republic of Iraq 169 Knightsbridge London SW7 1DWPhone: (020) 7581 2264Fax: (020) 7589 3356E-mail:lonemb@iraqmofamail.net Telephone: +44 207 602 8456 Fax: +44 207 3711652