RESULTS OF THE FIRST IRAQI INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE

Under the slogan of “a better world can be made by workers”, the First International Labour Conference was held in Erbil in the Kurdish Region of Iraq on 13 and 14 of March, 2009.  The event drew more than 200 delegates from unions and federations across Iraq and solidarity delegations from the U.S., the United Kingdom, South Africa, Japan, Australia, and Iran. 

More than a year in the making, the conference drew representatives from the General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, the General Federation of Oil Unions in Iraq, the Association of Electricity Workers, the Union of Petrochemical Workers, the Union of Port Workers and activists and workers from Mosul, Salahuddin.  Also attending were activists and workers of the newspaper of the Kurdistan Worker Solidarity, and the teachers union in Basra, Salaheddin, Engineering Society, the Union of Journalists and Writers in Basra, a large number of media and political figures and the representative of the UN mission (UNAMI), and a number of trade unionists who played an active role in the earlier history of the Iraqi trade union movement.

The international solidarity delegations included representatives from [UNITED STATES] U.S. Labour Against The War, the United Steel Workers (representing oil industry workers), the Central Connecticut Labor Council, Iraq Veterans Against the War; [SOUTH AFRICA] the Union of Communication Workers; [UNITED KINGDOM] Iraq Trade Union Solidarity Committee; [JAPAN] Panasonic Trade Union “Fellow Workers”, the Movement for Democratic Socialism; [IRAN] Federation of Free Workers; [AUSTRALIA] Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

Prior to the start, an exhibition of fine arts was organized under the same slogan. It was opened by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Mr. Adnan Mohamed Kader, , who formally greeted the conference on behalf of the Kurdistan regional government. Also attending was Colonel Khalid Abbas, a representative of the governor of Erbil.

An opening minute of silence in tribute to the sacrifices of the working class for freedom and equality was followed by a speech by Samir Adil, conference coordinator, and then by speeches of the heads of unions who participated in the conference, including brother Hassan Juma’a Awad, President of the Federation of Oil Unions in Iraq, brother Subhi Al-Badri, head of the General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, Sister Saba Qasim, in charge of Women's Affairs of the Federation of Oil Unions, brother Michael Eisenscher, National Coordinator of U.S. Labour Against the War, brother Mansour Razaghi, on behalf of the Construction, Forestry and Mining and Energy Union of Australia, brother Kondo Takasoma President of the Federation of Workers of the Panasonic Company, Gallant Robert, General Secretary of Communication Workers Union of South Africa (COSATU) and brother Rahim Soltani of the Federation of Free Workers from Iran. A video message of greeting by U.S Congressman Dennis Kucinich was broadcast to the Conference.

After discussion and amendments the participants voted on a number of draft resolutions submitted by the Preparatory Committee. They are:

1.   Resolution to form an international front against wars, economic blockade and the prevention of union rights;

2.   Resolution on the global economic crisis and the workers stance;

3.   Resolution on the Iraqi government’s interference into workers affairs;

4.   Resolution to promote and support an independent, non-sectarian and non-ethnic government in Iraq;

5.   Resolution on immediate enactment of a Labour Code to give all workers the right to organize and bargain in unions of their choice;

6.   Resolution against the draft oil and gas law;

7.   Resolution against privatization;

8.   Resolution to support the workers in the Japanese company (Panasonic).

On the second day of the conference workshops were conducted about the risks of privatization, the draft oil and gas law, labour law and trade union freedoms, women's and trade union action, global labour solidarity, war and its psychological repercussion, and labour media.

A number of solidarity messages were read at the conference, sent by figures that have a long history of struggle in the labour movement, including brother Ara Khajador, former secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Iraq, well known for his sacrifices; sister Suaad Khaeri, a long time fighter for the working class; brothers Hisqail Qojman, Abid Jassim, Ghathban Ahmed and Shanshal Abdullah, union leaders of cooking oil plant strike in 1968, all of whom received a standing ovation.

Congratulatory messages were received from the labor leader, Mahmoud Salehi, in the Iranian city of Saqqez, the left-wing student organization at the University of Basra and the progressive students of the University of Salahuddin.

At the conclusion of the conference, decorative plates bearing the conference logo were presented to the foreign delegations, associations and trade unions and organizational representatives who attended.

At the end of the event, three major federations announced the formation of a new labour confederation that will include the Federation of Oil Unions in Iraq, and the Association of Electricity Workers (utility workers) in Iraq, and the General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq

The conference concluded with the same the same slogan (a better world can be made by workers).