The summit takes place whilst the Iraqi Oil Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister are meeting with international oil companies at the Iraq
Petroleum 2007 summit [1], sponsored by Shell, Conoco Phillips, and
Total, and whilst the Iraqi government comes under increasing pressure
to pass the law before the US administration reports to Congress on 15
September, on the 'success' of its troop surge. Passage of the law is
one of the Bush administration’s "benchmarks" for the Iraqi government.
It is the first time that oil union leaders from all over the country have met together to form a united front.
Event organizers, the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), are at the
forefront of the national campaign for Iraq’s oil to stay under public
sector control. Accounting for 95% of all government revenue, Iraq’s
oil has been in the public sector for four decades.
The new Oil Law, currently before the Iraqi Parliament, would see
foreign oil companies control the production, extraction and sale of
much of Iraq’s oil for up to 30 years. There has been no public
consultation on the plans.
IFOU president Hassan Jumaa Awad told Naftana: "This is the third
conference held by the union to discuss the issue of privatization and
the proposed oil law. Opponents of the oil law - trade unions,
political parties, civil society groups, academics and activists - are
gathering here in Basra, united in their belief that the oil law does
not represent the interests of the Iraqi people."
The IFOU has faced severe repression for its stand on the oil law. Oil
Minister Hussein al-Sharistani declared all oil unions illegal in July
2007, using a Ba’ath regime anti-union law [2]. He also ordered the
closure of the IFOU’s office in Basra. In June, Iraqi troops were sent
into oil facilities during a strike by the workers over unfulfilled
agreements, and arrest warrants were issued against IFOU leaders.
Industrial action by the Union has shut down Iraqi oil exports twice in
the past three years, in protests over workers terms and conditions.
Contact Naftana for more information:
Sabah Jawad 0044 7985 336 886
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Sami Ramadani 0044 7863 138 748
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Kamil Mahdi –
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Naftana (‘Our Oil’ in Arabic) is an independent UK-based committee
supporting democratic trade unionism in Iraq. It works in solidarity
with the IFOU. It strives to publicise the union’s struggle for Iraqi
social and economic rights and its stand against the privatisation of
Iraqi oil demanded by the occupying powers.
For more information see the IFOU’s website www.basraoilunion.org
Notes
[1] Iraq Petroleum 2007: International Investment in the Iraqi Oil Industry
http://www.thecwcgroup.com/conf_detail_home.asp?FP=1&CID=178
[2] Order 150 passed in 1987 by Saddam Hussein banned public sector
workers from organizing trade unions. Sharistani’s Ministerial
directive dated 18 July 2007, states: ‘The minister has directed that
all members of all unions be banned from participating in any committee
if they use their union identification, since these unions have no
legal status to work within the state sector.’
