Sami Ramadani on Iraqi trade unions and the resistance

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Wednesday April 30, 2008 12:06 by Darren C - none

2008/04/29

The leaders of the Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWL) argue socialists should not fight for the withdrawal of US/UK troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. They claim that were the occupation to end immediately the Iraqi labour movement would be annihilated by reactionary Islamic forces. At a recent AWL day school, leading member Mark Osborne specifically claimed that the movement behind cleric Muqtada Al Sadr had a policy of "killing trade unionists". Curious to know whether there was any truth in this claim Simon Hardy contacted Iraqi exile and academic Sami Ramadani, from Iraq Occupation for Focus, for his thoughts. Sami replied quickly, exploding the argument of the AWL that the occupying forces provide any cover for the Iraqi labour movement. With thanks to Sami, we publish his reply here.

Dear Simon,

Strikes were always crushed under Saddam. But in a fascist-style move, Saddam Hussain in 1987 introduced a new law (known as decree 150) declaring all public sector workers, i.e. the overwhelming majority of Iraq's several million workers, "civil servants". And guess what? Civil servants were banned from joining a trade union. Overnight, most of Iraq's workers were not allowed to join even Saddam's own yellow unions.

After the occupation, Paul Bremer decreed that Saddam's decree 150 was still in force. It is the only Saddam law that was ever specifically declared valid by the occupation regime. Furthermore, no trade unions, yellow or red, are legal in Iraq today, until such time that the government 'enacts a law which will govern the status of all associations'. That some unions are operating is due to the determination of the workers to defend the most basic of their rights. The Federation of Iraqi Oil Unions, headquartered in Basra, is the shining example of such a union.

It is despicable of the Alliance for Workers Liberty to absolve the occupation and accuse the Sadr movement of assassinating trade unionists. It is the occupation tanks, jets and police-state tactics which are trying to crush the struggle of Iraq's working class of Iraq and its trade unions. Like you, I don't have any illusions about Sadr, but one has to base one's analysis of Iraq on the facts and not on a pack of lies.

It was no accident that the province which was least controlled by the US-led occupation and the puppet regime developed into the hub of independent trade unionism. Not a single trade unionist was killed by the Sadr movement in Basra, a city that they mainly controlled. It was the British forces which opened fire last year on a well known union office in Basra. And it was the occupation which was accused by the unions of the assassination of an oil engineer last year.

During the past several months occupation forces have encircled and threatened striking workers, and the oil and port workers' union officials have been threatened with arrest and physical liquidation by the regime and its agents. I do know that these unions have members and officials who support the Sadr movement, though they certainly do not have a majority or control these unions. And while these unions were threatened by pro-regime militias (such as those of the pro-occupation Islamic Supreme Council), they have never reported being threatened by the Sadr supporters. With the occupation and the regime tightening their grip on Basra, trade unionists are fearing the worst and are calling on workers across the world to stand by Iraq's workers in their struggle.

The main aspect of the Sadr movement's activities which did attract a lot of hostility by people in Basra and Baghdad was their attempts to make women wear the hijab. But countless thousands of women in Baghdad and Basra continued to assert and exercise their right to wear or not wear the hijab. Reports in the media that they barred girls from going to school or women to university are false and form part of a propaganda onslaught to justify the killing and crushing of the Sadr supporters. Currently the Sadr movement's most outspoken cadres are their several women members of parliament. Yesterday they led 50-members of parliament into the besieged Sadr City in an attempt to stop the the US planes from bombarding the city.

Last but not least, the US, British and regime forces besieging and bombarding Basra and Sadr City in Baghdad have killed or injured thousands of people in the past weeks alone. Aren't some of these workers or trade unionists? Or, as far as the AWL is concerned, they don't count because they are being killed or maimed by the occupation?

Best wishes,
Sami