FCO-TUC work in hand paper, March 2007

FCO-TUC advisory council meeting

13 March 2007

Ambassadors and High Commissioners

The new High Commissioner to Pakistan met with the TUC in November, the new Ambassador to Ecuador met with the TUC in December, and the new Ambassador to Venezuela visited the TUC to meet the Deputy General Secretary in January. Requests have been submitted to the new Ambassadors to Georgia, Germany, Poland, Singapore and Spain and the new High Commissioners to Ghana and Yemen. In some cases it has not proved possible to arrange meetings (eg the new ambassador to Sweden - a written brief has been sent by the TUC), but in others, no reply has yet been forthcoming, and there may be a need to consider steps to revitalise the process.

In December, the High Commission in Australia arranged for a TUC visitor to see the adviser to the Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

In January, the High Commissioner to South Africa and Swaziland, Paul Boateng, held a round-table with trade unionists on a visit to the UK, which could form a model for future engagement. Mr Boateng spoke at a lunch during the five-country Trade and Trade Unions seminar in South Africa in February (reported on elsewhere) and his Deputy High Commissioner hosted an evening reception for the seminar participants.

The TUC delegation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel in January received considerable support from the Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Consulate-General in Jerusalem, and the Ambassador to Tel Aviv hosted a dinner for the TUC delegation and the leadership of Histadrut.

Colombia

The TUC protested in February about Colombian government attempts to delay recognition of the International Trade Union Confederation as an accredited body with the UN, and alerted the FCO to concerns about the commitment of the Colombian government to the ILO mission in Colombia. FCO Posts in New York and Bogota are following this up and are in touch with ITUC.

Corruption

Ian McCartney raised this at the November Advisory Council. The TUC took part in the launch of new Government publicity materials on anti-corruption in November, and subsequently discussed the issue with the Secretary of State for International Development.

Disability

The TUC's Disability Officer has met with the FCO human rights team to discuss UK promotion of the UN Disability Convention, which the TUC supports, including using the TUC's international trade union contacts.

EU

The TUC informed the FCO of the views of the ETUC on the German Presidency's agenda. The TUC General Secretary is due to meet the Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, later in March.

Falkland Islands

Following an approach from local trade unionists, the TUC has drafted an informal proposal for GOF Overseas Territories resources to assist the Falkand Islands trade union movement to develop its organisational capacity.

FCO Panels

Simon Steyne from the TUC has joined the FCO child rights panel. The NUJ is already a member of the FCO freedom of expression panel, and in December raised again the issue of the death of ITN Journalist Terry Lloyd in Iraq.

G8

The TUC has met with the UK sous-sherpa for the German G8, Martin Donnelly, to discuss union input into the G8, and a further meeting will be held later in March.

Guinea-Bissau

The TUC informed the FCO of its protest to the President of Guinea-Bissau about raids on trade union offices in January.

Human Rights Report

The TUC has been liaising with the FCO human rights team about the relationship between the FCO's annual human rights report and the ITUC annual survey of violations of trade union rights. In future years, the ITUC survey will be submitted in draft to the FCO so that it can be taken into account in the FCO publication, and when published the ITUC survey will be sent to each post. The TUC has suggested a cross-departmental seminar on trade union and other human rights for the weeks after publication of the FCO report in autumn 2007, which the FCO is considering.

Involvement in FCO Events

The FCO funded the attendance of a TUC representative at a high level round table on labour market reforms in India in December. Two representatives of the Hungarian trade union movement will participate in March in a Wilton Park conference on competitiveness in the new EU member states (being held in Budapest). And the TUC's corporate social responsibility policy specialist will address the FCO Leadership Conference in March.

Iran

The TUC and the FCO desk and embassy in Tehran have maintained contact over labour rights in Iran, and FCO officials visited the TUC in December for a briefing on union repression in Iran. The FCO ensured that the EU publicly pressed the Iranian government to release transport unionist Mansour Osanloo when he was re-arrested in December.

Iraq

The TUC has maintained contact with the Iraq Policy Unit and with the Embassy in Baghdad, especially over oil and anti-union violence. The TUC has ensured that the FCO is aware of the opposition of Iraqi oil unions to privatisation, and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Human Rights in Iraq, Ann Clwyd MP, brokered meetings between the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Iraqi union leaders on that and many other subjects.

In February, the TUC drew the FCO's attention to concerns about US military assaults on the Iraqi Journalists' Union. The FCO has investigated these reports with the US and with Coalition forces and have received assurances from Multi-National Forces Iraq (MNF-I) that there were no MNF-I related operations in the vicinity of Iraqi Journalists' Union facilities during the timeframe described.

The TUC also alerted the FCO to reports of UK military attacks on the FWCUI Union in Basra. These were investigated by the deputy Consul General, and found to relate to a defensive action in which no civilians were involved.

LGBT issues

The TUC raised with the FCO the Montreal Declaration, adopted last summer by the world Workers Out conference, and has developed a work programme with the FCO human rights team on LGBT issues. The TUC LGBT Committee was informed about developments, and welcomed this work. In February, the TUC raised concerns about further homophobic attacks in Jamaica.

TUC events

Ian McCartney MP spoke at an international conference organised by the Northern Region TUC on 9 March.

Tunisia

The FCO funded a study visit from the national centre in Tunisia, the UGTT, to Britain in January, looking at how the UK coped with globalisation, especially in the textiles and tourism sectors. The TUC co-hosted a dinner with the All Party Tunisia Group at the House of Lords, and arranged a visit to the Yorkshire and Humberside Region of the TUC which may lead to further twinning activities.

Visas

Following further problems with securing visas for trade unionists attending events in the UK, the TUC met with the UK Visas Stakeholder Manager in January to improve the systems used by the TUC and other union bodies to ensure that the process is as uncomplicated as possible for both trade unions and the visa service. The TUC uses standard letters of invitation drawn up in consultations with UK Visas.

Zimbabwe

The TUC and FCO liaised closely over the successful campaign to ensure that EU targeted measures on Mugabe and other principal government leaders were renewed in February (the TUC ensured that trade unions in key countries lobbied their governments, and ensured that the ITUC encouraged all trade union centres in the EU to do the same) and also exchanged information on the successful effort to prevent the French government inviting Robert Mugabe to the Franco-African summit in February, which saw an unprecedented joint letter by the three main trade union confederations in France. The TUC has continued to liaise with the Embassy in Harare over the trials of ZCTU leaders.