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Stop harassment of Basra oil refinery workers, says TUC

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Stop harassment of Basra oil refinery workers says TUC.

Four key union leaders at the Southern Oil Company in Basra, Iraq are being transferred out of the worksite by management - a union-busting move to undermine their demands for decent working conditions. The TUC has written to the Iraqi Embassy in the UK below calling on the newly elected Iraqi Government to end this harassment, and finally put in place a fair and just national labour law. To show your support, sign the campaign appeal for a fair and just Iraqi labour law.

9 April 2010

His Excellency Mr Abdulmuhaimen Al-Oreibi
Charge d'Affaires
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, UK

Dear Mr Al-Oreibi,

Harassment of Basra oil refinery workers

The TUC, with 58 affiliated unions representing 6.2 million workers, strongly protests against the recent harassment of oil refinery workers in Basra. We call on the newly elected Iraqi Government to prevent such harassment, and finally put in place a fair and just national labour law.

On 1 April 2010, the government-owned Southern Oil Company transferred four key leaders of the Basra-based Refinery Workers Union, including the president and vice president out of their jobs. This deliberate attempt to silence union leaders and bust-up the union was in response to a series of peaceful demonstrations by workers throughout March asking for a range of reforms including: fair pay, payment of allowances owed since 2007, permanent recruitment of temporary workers, transparent recruitment processes, modernisation of production equipment, and critically, the recognition of their trade union, among others.

This harassment of workers is a clear breach of the right to freedom of association recognised in the Iraqi Constitution and a core convention of the International Labour Organisation. We call on the Iraqi Government to immediately end such harassment, fully reinstate all workers, and ensure mature negotiations take place to resolve all worker concerns.

This case is yet another troubling reason why Iraq needs to replace its Saddam-era labour laws, with fair, just and ILO-compliant ones. Such a step would help to build a mature system of industrial relations in Iraq, driving a productive and profitable oil sector benefitting all Iraqis. This is what trade unions in Iraq are campaigning for, what the TUC is proud to support (see article here), and what we urge you to raise with your newly elected government.

I look forward to a positive update on progress.

Yours sincerely

Brendan Barber


BRENDAN BARBER

General Secretary

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