By IRNA
London : British trade unions have accused the Iraqi government of using Saddam Hussein’s laws which ignore the right of oil workers to join unions.
In a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) formally protested over an internal Oil Ministry memo which urges managers to use Saddam’s law banning public sector unions against workers in the oil industry.
“The British TUC, representing people at work in Britain through our 59 unions and their 6.5 million members, is shocked that your government is using laws introduced by Saddam,” TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said.
Barber urged the Iraqi premier to make it clear that people that people working for the Iraqi government are “free to join trade unions and that those unions are free to bargain with their employers.” “I would also reiterate our call on you to repeal Saddam Hussein’s labour laws and introduce long-delayed new labour laws in conformity with ILO (International Labour Organisation) core conventions,” he said.
The protest comes after the TUC said it was informed by its sister organisations in southern Iraq of instructions issued by legal advisor of the Iraqi oil ministry, Laith abd al Hussein Shahir, not to deal with trade unions that are not registered.
“The memo indicates that the minister had advised that it is forbidden for any union member to be part of any committee formed in the companies because the unions are not legitimate and are illegal in the public sector,” Barber said.
The TUC said Iraq had ratified ILO Convention 98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining and “thus has international treaty obligations to promote voluntary collective bargaining between trade unions and employers.”
The memo was said to do the opposite by apparently relying on both Saddam Hussein’s Decree 150 banning trade unions in the public sector and the more recent Decree 8750 which freezes trade union assets.
“These are matters of gravest concern to the British and international trade union movement,” the TUC secretary general said in his letter to al-Maliki.
“The promotion of free and democratic trade unionism and effective social dialogue are essential prerequisites for successful and peaceful reconstruction in Iraq,” he said.
The TUC urged the Iraqi prime minister to ensure that the instruction is withdrawn and replaced by the active encouragement of effective social dialogue in the oil sector.