Iraqi oil unions
Nov 25 2005 19:14
we learnt about what was happening with oil workers resisting in iraq at the indymedia/dancehouse night and they are doing good stuff. i thought maybe people would be interested in coming along to this.
‘Iraq’s Oil Is Not For Sale’
Public Meeting with Hassan Juma’a Awad of the Iraqi Federation of
Oil Unions
Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester
Monday 28th November @7.30pm
'Iraq's most powerful union: resisting occupation, elements of the
previous regime, political co-optation and the privatisation of
Iraq's oil'. The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions is a completely
independent Union not affiliated to any union federation in Iraq.
Come and hear the President of the IFOU Hassan Juma’a Awad speak
about oil workers’ struggle in Iraq.
The IFOU is the most powerful trade union in Iraq representing over
23,000 oil workers across 3 provinces in nine state oil and gas
companies.
The Union has stated that ‘The privatisation of the oil and
industrial sectors is the objective of all in the Iraqi
state/government. We will stand firm against this imperialist plan
that would hand over Iraq's wealth to international capitalism such
that the deprived Iraqi people would not benefit from it…we are
taking this path for the sake of Iraq's glory even if it costs us
our lives.’
The Union has consistently held a ‘Troops Out Now’ policy, calling
for an immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces from Iraq.
Many of the Union’s executive committee were persecuted by the
Baath dictatorship. Awad himself was jailed three times by the
regime.
The Union has on two separate occasions halted oil exports through
strike action over unpaid wages, repressive Baathist managers and
officials in the Ministry of Oil and land allocations for
employees. It has successfully reconstructed infrastructure, port
equipment, drilling rigs and pipelines without the help of foreign
companies. It also succeeded in cancelling the last two tiers of
the Occupation’s Order 30 wage-table and raising the minimum wage
for Iraqi oil workers from 69,000 Iraqi Dinar (£20) per month to
102,000 ID (£35) per month. It has also negotiated the return of
1000 foreign workers in favour of the employment of local Iraqi
workers.
Ewa Jasiewicz, Co-Convenor of the IFOU Support Committee ‘Naftana’
(meaning ‘Our Oil’) said, ‘Hassan’s second visit to the UK is a
wake-up call. Iraq’s oil has not yet been privatised, and the IFOU
are in a position, physically, strategically and historically to
make sure that it never will be. This union needs our maximum
support’.
Nov 29 2005 16:11
#2
to continue the tradition of giving feedbakc on events
THIS WAS FUCKING DOGS BOLLOCKS MAN!!!
very good, just what i wanted to hear, gives me loads of ammo to talk with my work mates, training partners at gym, friends what not about whole Iraq malarky.
Thanks for everyone who organised it.
(trots were there will all material, no anarchist material available. Good or bad thing? Or perhaps irrelevant...)
sorry for a crap feedback, but in a hurry 
Nov 29 2005 22:15
#3
Quote:
(trots were there will all material, no anarchist material available. Good or bad thing? Or perhaps irrelevant...)
Bad thing, I think. But indicative of our relative strengths.
Nov 30 2005 11:03
#4
well, there were quite a few anarchists there, me and rochelle included, so i guess it is also about pulling that mystical finger out...
Nov 30 2005 11:09
#5
It's all just down to having the assumption that all events should be covered. In my town plenty of political gigs and events happen with no organised libertarian presence, mainly because people don't seem to think that attending with propaganda is important.
Nov 30 2005 12:20
#6
I think it is important to cover as many events as posible. The problem is we're not superhuman and travelling to them can be an effort that is too hard at times.
It shouldn't be hard in a city like Manchester to distribute thousand sof copies of libertarian magazines like Resistance and Catalyst, not just the few hundred we manage.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/11/328434.html