Thursday, June 07, 2007
Iraqi military surrounds Iraq Pipelines Union on strike in Basra
Oil
(UPI) - On the third day of an oil strike in southern Iraq, the Iraqi military has surrounded oil workers and the prime minister has issued arrest warrants for the union leaders, sparking an outcry from supporters and international unions. "This will not stop us because we are defending people's rights," said Hassan Jumaa Awad, president of IFOU. As of Wednesday morning, when United Press International spoke to Awad via mobile phone in Basra at the site of one of the strikes, no arrests had been made, "but regardless, the arrest warrant is still active." He said the "Iraqi Security Forces," who were present at the strike scenes, told him of the warrants and said they would be making any arrests.
The arrest warrant accuses the union leaders of "sabotaging the economy," according a statement from British-based organization Naftana, and said Maliki warned his "iron fist" would be used against those who stopped the flow of oil. IFOU called a strike early last month but put it on hold twice after overtures from the government. Awad said that at a May 16 meeting, Maliki agreed to set up a committee to address the unions' demands.
The demands include union entry to negotiations over the oil law they fear will allow foreign oil companies too much access to Iraq's oil, as well as a variety of improved working conditions. "Apparently they promise but they never do anything," Awad said, confirming reports the Iraqi Oil Ministry would send a delegation to Basra.
"One person from the Ministry of Oil accompanied by an Iraqi military figure came to negotiate the demands. Instead it was all about threats. It was all about trying to shut us up, to marginalize our actions," Awad said. "The actions we are taking now are continuing with the strike until our demands are taken in concentration."
The strike by the Iraq Pipelines Union in Basra started Monday, instigated by a decision by the Iraq Pipelines Company to stop regular bonuses to workers. It is part of a larger picture, however, of 17 different demands laid out -- beginning last month -- to the Iraq Oil Ministry and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions.
Since the strike began, two small pipelines delivering oil products to Baghdad and other cities have been closed, as has a larger pipeline that sends gas and oil to major cities, including Baghdad, and utilities. The strike started with domestic pipelines transporting oil and oil products, but Iraq's top oil unionist says it will soon encapsulate the 1.6 million barrels per day of oil Iraq sends to the global market.
Basra, home to much of Iraq's 115 billion barrels of oil -- the third-largest reserves in the world -- is also Iraq's main port. Awad said the unions will continue to restrict all oil exports, which bring in 93 percent of Iraq's federal budget funds. Such a move, combined with the choking off of much-needed supplies of transportation, cooking and heating fuels, is what the unions hopes to use as leverage against Maliki.
Awad said "the atmosphere here is full of tension," and added that he wants to pressure the government to agree to their demands, not topple an already-weak Maliki government. "At the end we are hoping that the situation will not go that way," Awad said.
Manfred Warda, general secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, Wednesday sent a letter to Maliki condemning his tactics in addressing the strike. The Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation and London-based Trades Union Congress have also condemned the military action and arrest warrants. A top official with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine & General Workers' Union said his contacts say the strike had been toned down while negotiations were underway, but has not ended.
Kamil Mahdi, an Iraqi economist on Middle East affairs at the University of Exeter, said Maliki's swing from agreement with the unions to a military presence and warrants is "very surprising," and arresting the leaders won't quell the workers' demands. "It may be the opposite. These are people who are highly respected in the community," he said. If the strike isn't stopped soon, "the effect on the global oil market will certainly be felt."
The arrest warrant accuses the union leaders of "sabotaging the economy," according a statement from British-based organization Naftana, and said Maliki warned his "iron fist" would be used against those who stopped the flow of oil. IFOU called a strike early last month but put it on hold twice after overtures from the government. Awad said that at a May 16 meeting, Maliki agreed to set up a committee to address the unions' demands.
The demands include union entry to negotiations over the oil law they fear will allow foreign oil companies too much access to Iraq's oil, as well as a variety of improved working conditions. "Apparently they promise but they never do anything," Awad said, confirming reports the Iraqi Oil Ministry would send a delegation to Basra.
"One person from the Ministry of Oil accompanied by an Iraqi military figure came to negotiate the demands. Instead it was all about threats. It was all about trying to shut us up, to marginalize our actions," Awad said. "The actions we are taking now are continuing with the strike until our demands are taken in concentration."
The strike by the Iraq Pipelines Union in Basra started Monday, instigated by a decision by the Iraq Pipelines Company to stop regular bonuses to workers. It is part of a larger picture, however, of 17 different demands laid out -- beginning last month -- to the Iraq Oil Ministry and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions.
Since the strike began, two small pipelines delivering oil products to Baghdad and other cities have been closed, as has a larger pipeline that sends gas and oil to major cities, including Baghdad, and utilities. The strike started with domestic pipelines transporting oil and oil products, but Iraq's top oil unionist says it will soon encapsulate the 1.6 million barrels per day of oil Iraq sends to the global market.
Basra, home to much of Iraq's 115 billion barrels of oil -- the third-largest reserves in the world -- is also Iraq's main port. Awad said the unions will continue to restrict all oil exports, which bring in 93 percent of Iraq's federal budget funds. Such a move, combined with the choking off of much-needed supplies of transportation, cooking and heating fuels, is what the unions hopes to use as leverage against Maliki.
Awad said "the atmosphere here is full of tension," and added that he wants to pressure the government to agree to their demands, not topple an already-weak Maliki government. "At the end we are hoping that the situation will not go that way," Awad said.
Manfred Warda, general secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, Wednesday sent a letter to Maliki condemning his tactics in addressing the strike. The Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation and London-based Trades Union Congress have also condemned the military action and arrest warrants. A top official with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine & General Workers' Union said his contacts say the strike had been toned down while negotiations were underway, but has not ended.
Kamil Mahdi, an Iraqi economist on Middle East affairs at the University of Exeter, said Maliki's swing from agreement with the unions to a military presence and warrants is "very surprising," and arresting the leaders won't quell the workers' demands. "It may be the opposite. These are people who are highly respected in the community," he said. If the strike isn't stopped soon, "the effect on the global oil market will certainly be felt."
Labels: Basra, Hassan Jumaa Awad, IFOU, Iraq Pipelines Union, Iraqi military, Oil Ministry, oil workers, strikes
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions wants Iraq's oil to be state-controlled
Oil
(UPI) - Hassan Jumaa Awad wants Iraq's oil to stay under state control, and the unionists, who have long worked the rigs, to be supported in developing the national resource. But this is no request from the president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions. It's a demand. The IFOU represents more than 26,000 workers organized under various unions in the oil-rich southern and northern areas of Iraq. Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, together they've operated Iraq's oil sector before, during and after Saddam Hussein. Their rights to officially unionize are still denied under a 1978 Saddam law, one of a few of the former president's laws the U.S. occupation and the Iraqi Parliament upheld.
Kurdish and central government negotiators reached a deal last month on the framework for a law governing Iraq's oil. Details on ownership rights and revenue sharing are still far from finalized. The Iraq National Oil Co. would restart but compete with foreign oil companies, who could win contracts giving them partial ownership of the respective fields. INOC "should have full privileges," Awad said, "and we don't agree on the production partnership."
Iraq's oil has been nationalized for four decades. Iraqis view it with a pride of ownership, something the law would reduce if the contract language allowing for foreign ownership stands. The unions were kept in the dark, as were most members of Iraq's parliament, until the draft law was leaked to the media. Even then it was still out the reach of most of Iraq's citizens.
Oil unions led large strikes in the 1940s and 1950s. In the past four years, Iraqi oil workers stopped work when they weren't being paid or when a foreign subcontractor was hired to replace them. They only threatened to strike after the Coalition Provisional Authority ordered wages decreased. The Iraq Oil Ministry balked. This prompted other unions, like dock workers in Umm Qasr and Zubair, to edge out foreign corporations given contracts.
The IFOU could shut down Iraq's production if the draft hydrocarbons law stands. With oil revenue funding 93 percent of the federal budget, that's a large bargaining chip. Oil workers could also whip up a critical mass of dissent in their communities. The oil workers' popular support crosses sectarian lines.
Kurdish and central government negotiators reached a deal last month on the framework for a law governing Iraq's oil. Details on ownership rights and revenue sharing are still far from finalized. The Iraq National Oil Co. would restart but compete with foreign oil companies, who could win contracts giving them partial ownership of the respective fields. INOC "should have full privileges," Awad said, "and we don't agree on the production partnership."
Iraq's oil has been nationalized for four decades. Iraqis view it with a pride of ownership, something the law would reduce if the contract language allowing for foreign ownership stands. The unions were kept in the dark, as were most members of Iraq's parliament, until the draft law was leaked to the media. Even then it was still out the reach of most of Iraq's citizens.
Oil unions led large strikes in the 1940s and 1950s. In the past four years, Iraqi oil workers stopped work when they weren't being paid or when a foreign subcontractor was hired to replace them. They only threatened to strike after the Coalition Provisional Authority ordered wages decreased. The Iraq Oil Ministry balked. This prompted other unions, like dock workers in Umm Qasr and Zubair, to edge out foreign corporations given contracts.
The IFOU could shut down Iraq's production if the draft hydrocarbons law stands. With oil revenue funding 93 percent of the federal budget, that's a large bargaining chip. Oil workers could also whip up a critical mass of dissent in their communities. The oil workers' popular support crosses sectarian lines.
Labels: draft oil law, Hassan Jumaa Awad, IFOU, Iraq National Oil Co., Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions
