Back in Iraq: Unions About to Be Destroyed (TPM Cafe)

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/2/233410/5706

By Nathan Newman

The Bush administration has been actively hostile to the trade unions in Iraq-- even keeping old Saddam Hussein laws in place to restrict union rights -- but a new decree 875 by the new government promises an even worse crackdown or even elimination of labor union independence in that nation.

See this post from Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions (IFTU), which details a letter from the government accompanying the decree which reads:

Sep 02, 2005 -- 11:34:10 PM EST

"The Decree No. 3 issued by the Governing Council in 2004 led to the ormation of a government Committee responsible for Labour and Social Rights headed by Naseer al-Charderdi. This Committee is no longer have the responsibility and. In its place a new Committee is established comprising the Ministers of Justice, the Interior, Finance, the Minister of State responsible for the Transitional Assembly, the Minister for Civil Society, and the Minister of National Security.

"This Committee must review all the decisions taken to oversee the implementation of Decree no. 3 since its publication in 2004 and must take control of all monies belonging to the trade unions and prevent them from dispensing any such monies.

"In addition I am proposing a new paper on how trade unions should function, operate and organise."

Signed
Dr Fahdal Abass
(Cabinet General Secretary)