Oakland Labor visits Iraq - PNVRC Tea Party

In mid-October Clarence Thomas, past secretary-treasurer of ILWU Local 10, and David Bacon, labor journalist and photographer (and editor of Labor News) spent five days in Baghdad, investigating the conditions of workers and labor rights under the occupation. The two were part of a delegation sent by US Labor Against the War, a group of international unions, locals and labor councils who came together to oppose the Iraq war last spring. The two Bay Area unionists spoke with leaders of both of the new labor federations in Iraq -- the Workers Democratic Trade Union Federation, and the Workers Unions and Councils. They also had meetings with workers themselves, with factory managers, and with the assistant Minister of Labor and the representative of the Bush-appointed occupation authority assigned to the ministry.

Until now, the voices and experiences of workers and unions have been absent from the picture we've received in the US of life on the ground in Iraq. In the course of intensive interviews, the situation of Iraqi workers became depressingly clear, they said.

70% of Iraqi workers have no jobs, and hunger among workers is a constant threat for many. For those still working, the low wages paid under Saddam have been frozen by the occupation authority. Decisions by the occupation authority to eliminate bonuses, profit sharing and the food subsidy have actually lowered their standard of living. The Labor Ministry has announced plans for an unemployment benefit system, but admits that no country has been willing to fund it, including the US. Presumably, the $87 billion Congress has appropriated for Iraqi reconstruction is not destined for either these benefits, or to raise the wages and buying power of Iraqi workers.

Most disburbing, the Saddam-era laws which prohibited unions and bargaining for workers in government-owned enterprises are still in effect. In addition, the occupation authority on June 16 issued an order prohibiting strikes. Both measures are basic violations of internationally-recognized labor rights. When the Ministry and occupation authority were asked directly if they intended to continue to enforce these prohibitions, they refused to answer.

The occupation authority has announced its intention to sell off many of the government-owned factories and enterprises which employ most Iraqi workers. This measure would violate international accords, since the authority is not the owner of those enterprises. Iraqi workers, unions, and even factory managers expressed grave concern about these proposals, since they believe they would lead to the elimination of thousands of jobs, in an economy in which unemployment is already at 70%. By prohibiting unions and strikes in these enterprises, workers believe that they are being denied the right to organize in their own self-interest, to try to stop this process, or even just to have a voice in it.

Meanwhile, labor peace activists in the US and Britain have begun to reach out to the new Iraqi unions. US Labor Against the War prepared a research paper after the occupation started, profiling the US corporations that were given reconstruction contracts. The USLAW delegation to Iraq in October took copies of the report, and offered to assist unions there if and when they confront the kind of union-busting activity for which some of those companies have become notorious. A British labor delegation has also visited Iraq.

Labor support for Iraqi unions is likely to focus on the repeal of the 1987 Saddam law prohibiting collective bargaining for state-sector workers, and the removal of other legal barriers on labor activity. The US Labor Assembly for Peace, convened in Chicago on October 24 and 25, resolved to make the issue of Iraqi labor rights under the occupation an issue in the 2004 election as well.

Clarence Thomas told the leadership of the WDTUF, "the Bush administration doesn't like unions in the US, so how can it like them in Iraq? I can see here that capital has international unity and mobility, so it's obvious that workers have to have the same thing if we're all to survive."

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