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Sweeney Addresses Historic Meeting Between Financial Institutions, Iraqi Trade Unions
For Iraqi workers, poverty, unemployment and chaos are spiraling out of control. At the same time, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are proposing economic reforms that would fundamentally change how the Iraqi government has historically structured public sector wages and pensions, aspects of the oil industry and social safety nets. Barbara Shailor, director of the AFL-CIO’s International Department, provides this update as part of an AFL-CIO Executive Council delegation to Amman, Jordan.
In a historic two-day meeting in Amman, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney addressed representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, along with 17 top leaders from five Iraqi trade union federations. The first-of-its-kind meeting, organized by the International Trade Union Confederation, was chaired by ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder and ITUC Washington, D.C., Director Peter Bakvis.
The meeting gave Iraqi unionists an opportunity to begin a constructive and transparent dialogue with international financial institutions, or IFIs, which have been actively engaged in Iraq without input from unions or other civil society organizations.
In September 2004, the IMF began a debt-forgiveness program for Iraq’s Saddam-era debt owed to the 19 “Paris Club” countries. In exchange, Iraq would abide by the IMF’s specific economic reform proposals. Previously, Iraq’s five trade union federations, representing workers from across the country, criticized these reform proposals and called for unconditional forgiveness of this Saddam-era debt.
In his opening remarks, Sweeney urged the IFIs to be more transparent with the Iraqi unions. He said:
Today and tomorrow, you have a tremendous opportunity to hear directly from Iraqi workers. Both of your institutions have stated that you value consultations with civil society. I believe this is the first such meeting with all of Iraq’s labor federations, and that is an important step forward. It will be very important to listen to the people who will ultimately “live” the effect of the policies you propose. These policies should match the needs and desires of the Iraqi people. Iraqi workers deserve full transparency and have a right to be consulted.
Ryder noted that the ITUC opposed the war in Iraq and early on urged U.S. government officials to protect the rights of Iraq’s working families. He cited the IFIs’ willingness to meet with the Iraqis as a constructive first step and urged constructive, robust, friendly and open lines of communication that include unions and other civil society organizations in all aspects of engagement within Iraq.
Sweeney spoke about the efforts the Global Labor Movement with the AFL-CIO is undertaking to assist Iraqi workers and their trade unions:
The AFL-CIO and the Global Labor Movement continue to condemn the abuses of fundamental worker rights and the lack of legal framework of basic labor law in Iraq. With the Global Labor Movement, we have raised these issues with the U.S. government, the British government and the Iraqi government. We also believe that it is a basic human right that Iraqi workers freely associate and participate in rebuilding of your country and your economy. After four years of this war, we know that Iraqi workers are still deprived of a decent labor law that could be a foundation for a better life for you and your working families. Your unions are still denied the basic right to participate in economic policy making in your country and hold your leaders accountable.
For the Iraqi labor movement, the opportunity to discuss IFI policy with the World Bank and the IMF in person was crucial. One trade union leader left his daughter’s wedding celebration to attend, and another missed his brother’s funeral to participate in this historic exchange.
The union leaders talked openly and forcefully about their major concerns: How IFI Iraq policy had been developed without the benefit of a transparent process, what the impact of privatization would be on public-sector workers (who before the war made up nearly three-fourths of Iraq’s workforce) and how poverty and corruption were destroying the country.
“Citizens can’t afford even a small bottle of gas,” said one leader, concerned that any reduction in benefits or salaries would exacerbate and already difficult situation.
Lars Mhyre, head of the energy section of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), gave a fascinating comparison to Norway after the war with Germany and how it rebuilt its energy sector with assistance from Iraq. The key point, he said, is to keep national majority control over all decisions, never let multinational corporations get control and have a strong union base that can negotiate with the employers and ensure that local citizens receive a decent wage.
By the end of the meeting in Amman, the World Bank and the IMF gained insight into the Iraqis’ point of view on how IFI policies directly affect working families. The IFIs will work with the ITUC to issue a written summary report in Arabic and in English of all discussions and recommendations for further action. They also pledged to include unions in all comprehensive strategies, and they challenged the unions to develop and share with them their own vision for economic reform in Iraq. All participants agreed to an ongoing relationship facilitated by the ITUC.
Read previous coverage of the delegation’s visit to Amman here and here.
In addition to Sweeney, the AFL-CIO delegation includes AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Bill Lucy, AFA-CWA International President Patricia Friend, IFPTE International President Greg Junemann, AFL-CIO Solidarity Center Executive Director Ellie Larson and Shailor.
The Global Unions were represented by the ITUC, International Transport Federation (ITF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) and a representative of the workers from the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) regional Arab States office.
The Iraqi trade union federations included the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW), Oil Unions Federation in Iraq (General Union of Oil Employees), Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI), Kurdistan General Workers Syndicate Union/Irbil (KGWSU) and the Iraqi Kurdistan Workers Syndicate Union/Suleimaniya (IKWSU).
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