Iraqi oil union leader faces 5 years in jail for organising a strike

[Random]

Here's a c+p of an email I received, since so far there's no info on the web about this

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Dear friends,

Iraqi Oil Workers leader Hassan Jumaa Awad al Assadi is facing court tomorrow in Basrah, for 'organising strikes and protests'. He could be jailed for 5-years if found 'guilty'. Baath Dictatorship anti-union laws are still on the books in Iraq. If anyone is under any illusions that the war on Iraq is over or that imperialist designs and forces have vacated the country, please read Sami Ramadani's excellent Guardian piece on the current state of affairs:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/14/iraq-pain-2003-civil-war

Re Hassan and his and other trade uninists struggles for self-determination, liberation and quality, please help stop the criminalisation of workplace and community resistance and organising.

The letter below is being co-ordinated by US Labor Against War http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/ and trade union leaders and MPs etc from all over the world are being contacted to sign it. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR OWN UNION GENERAL SECRETARY and/or MP/Senator to sign it.

Also email or fax it to your local Iraqi Embassy:

USA: 3421 Massachusetts Ave., N.W, Washington, D.C. 20007 [email protected] and 001 (202) 742-1600 TELEPHONE

UK: 3 Elvaston Place, London SW7 5QH. Tel: 020 7590 9220 - Fax: 020 7584 7909

PLEASE ORGANISE PROTESTS AT YOUR LOCAL IRAQI EMBASSY - so far Ive managed to pull one together in Poland because thats where I will be tomorrow: https://www.facebook.com/events/630980193584457/


USLAW's Letter:

His Excellency Mr. Nouri Al Maliki

Prime Minister of Iraq

Baghdad-Iraq



Best Greetings,

We are deeply concerned about the continuing violations of union rights and freedoms in Iraq, in particular in the oil sector. Hassan Juma Awad, Chairman of the Federation of Oil Unions, has been summoned before the Basra Court, on March 20, where he will face charges of organizing a strike at the Southern Oil Company. However, Hassan Juma Awad declares that these charges are false and that he is being accused as part of a government effort to slander and undermine him and the unions. Also, eight Southern Oil Company workers have been summoned to the General Inspector’s Office in the Ministry of Oil in order for the Ministry to investigate their role in recent demonstrations in Basra, where workers engaged in peaceful protest to express their legitimate demands.



The Iraqi constitution guarantees freedom of association and peaceful demonstrations, yet over the years, the Ministry of Oil has repeatedly taken disciplinary actions against union activists, including transferring them to distant work sites, reprimanding them, filing criminal complaints against them and imposing heavy fines and penalties on them. The Ministry has banned union organizing at the companies affiliated to it, which is also a violation of ILO convention 98, which Iraq has ratified.

These attacks on freedom of association and the right to organize and bargain collectively reflect the government of Iraq’s intention to hold on to repressive laws and policies issued under the Saddam Hussein regime. Decree 150 of 1987, which bans union organizing in the public sector, is clear evidence of that, as is the continued enforcement of labor law number 71 and the union organizing law number 52 of 1987, both of which are in contradiction with ILO conventions and international labor standards, though Iraq has ratified sixty six international labor conventions.

The Iraqi government’s continued repression of freedom of association and worker rights, based on laws issued under a dictatorship, is in direct contradiction with the principals of democracy and justice that the Iraqi government promises its people. The government of Iraq should immediately cancel the orders issued by the Ministry of Oil to union activists, including all transfer orders, reprimands and arbitrary penalties against union activists. Charges against Hassan Juma Awad, and any other workers who have had retaliatory legal action taken against them, should be dropped. All workers, including public sector workers, must be permitted to freely join trade unions, without government interference in union activities. We also urge you to act to expedite the passage of the new labor law, in compliance with International labor standards, allowing all workers the right to join unions and bargain collectively.

We look forward to your positive response on these urgent and important matters.



Sincerely,

U.S. Labor Against the War

 

[danny la rouge]

Cheers, Random.

 

[Random]

The date of the trial's moved to the 7th April

 

[J Ed]

http://www.economist.com/node/2092719

Article from 2003:

If it all works out, Iraq will be a capitalist's dream

A SHOCK programme of economic reforms signals a radical departure for Iraq. The changes, announced by the country's provisional rulers at the annual World Bank/IMFjamboree in Dubai, could see its battered economy transformed abruptly into a virtual free-trade zone.
If carried through, the measures will represent the kind of wish-list that foreign investors and donor agencies dream of for developing markets. Investors in any field, except for all-important oil production and refining, would be allowed 100% ownership of Iraqi assets, full repatriation of profits, and equal legal standing with local firms. Foreign banks would be welcome to set up shop immediately, or buy into Iraqi ventures. Income and corporate taxes would be capped at 15%. Tariffs would be slashed to a universal 5% rate, with none imposed on food, drugs, books and other “humanitarian” imports.
The reforms follow other bright economic news. The Bush administration is proposing to sink a whopping $20 billion into Iraqi reconstruction over the coming year, a sum roughly equal to two-thirds of Iraq's current GDP, or to one-third of the $60 billion-70 billion total that current estimates say will be needed to repair the country in the medium term.
A new currency is to be launched towards the end of October, shortly before a donor conference in Madrid that is likely to solicit huge sums more in international aid. Other initiatives have already created an independent central bank, as well as a trade bank backed by a consortium of 13 foreign banks and a $500m credit from America's ExIm Bank. Together, the moves hold the promise of yanking Iraq back into the global economy in record time.
Yet several ifs loom large. Rampant insecurity is likely to deter all but the most avid investors for months to come. Even if a gush of development funds is released, aid pipelines, and America's in particular, are notoriously long and twisted. Questions also linger over the durability of the new commercial rules.
Naysayers question the motives and authority of a government that is still widely seen as an American puppet. The regulations were announced by Iraq's nominal finance minister, Kamel al-Gailani, but they bear the signature of Paul Bremer, who heads the American-run Coalition Provisional Authority, and the imprimatur of the American consultants it has hired to frame economic policies.
The rules also bear an important caveat. They are subject to “adoption or replacement” by a future, elected Iraqi government. Given the shock and awe expressed by many Baghdad businessmen at the scale of the changes, it is not clear that such a future regime would be able to resist pressures to reimpose protectionism.
Fears of invasion by multinationals keen to wipe out local competition are doubtless exaggerated: Iraq urgently needs outside investment and expertise. Even so, the instant discarding of 40 years of national-socialist commercial culture is likely to create serious distortions.
The changes will, however, cheer another important constituency, the American Congress. Mr Bremer, testifying before American legislators to justify the demand for huge new outlays, cited the reforms as proof that Iraq is beginning to follow the American way. The unspoken wish is that this will create a poster-child for the recalcitrant economies surrounding it.

 

[elbows]

I'm very sad about how little attention was paid to Iraq's economic rules after 2003. For example a search for 'Iraq flat tax' shows most results are from 2003. And for some reason Iraq seems to have vanished from wikipedia lists of countries with a flat tax system. Not sure what the situation actually is right now although I found a Bloomberg Businessweek article from 2009 that says "Income from limited liability companies and joint stock companies is taxed at a fixed rate of 15%."

From the same article "Once you become comfortable with the security situation, you will find the possibility of profits is great."

http://www.businessweek.com/stories...siness-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice