Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Doctors go on strike in Basrah over lack of protection
Medical
(IRIN) - Nearly 150 doctors in Basra, Iraq's second largest city about 600km south of Baghdad, began a three-day strike on 23 July, demanding the government protect them and their families. "We will not attend our clinics and will not do operations for three days to draw to the government's attention our plight as doctors living in harsh conditions," said Dr Muaid Jumaa, head of the Basra Doctors' Association.
Jumaa said 12 doctors had been killed in Basra by unidentified gunmen since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, and dozens of others had fled the city. "We are protesting against the assassinations, kidnappings, threats and blackmail facing doctors in Basra and calling on the government to shoulder its responsibilities in protecting this important sector of our society," Jumaa said.
"The government has to improve the security situation in the province and this is not hard," he continued."We call on the government and parliament to adopt laws to protect doctors. Tough punishments should be meted out to those who threaten, kidnap and kill doctors."
According to figures from the Iraqi Health Ministry released earlier this year, 618 medical employees, including 132 doctors, as well as medics and other health care workers, have been killed nationwide since 2003. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of other medical personnel are believed to have fled to Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and neighboring countries.
Labels: Basra, Basra Doctors' Association, doctors, Dr Muaid Jumaa, medical, Ministry of Health, strikes
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
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Mine employees go on strike in Dahuk
(Voices of Iraq) - Employees of the Public Corporation for Mines in Duhuk went on several days strike on Tuesday, protesting their low salaries, a source from the corporation said. "Contracted employees went on strike today because of their low salaries compared to their counterparts in Sulaimaniya," Nouzad Abdullah, a protester, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
"Around 210 employees took part in the strike that will continue until their demands are accepted," Abdullah added. "The strike will harm the work of the corporation, especially after the workers in Arbil's branch started to experience the same problem," he added.
The chairman of the corporation in Duhuk, Engineer Uwaynan Youssef, said earlier that the region tops Iraq's regions in terms of the spread of landmines, noting that workers managed to remove 1,579 land mines and 1,074 cluster bombs during a year.
"Around 210 employees took part in the strike that will continue until their demands are accepted," Abdullah added. "The strike will harm the work of the corporation, especially after the workers in Arbil's branch started to experience the same problem," he added.
The chairman of the corporation in Duhuk, Engineer Uwaynan Youssef, said earlier that the region tops Iraq's regions in terms of the spread of landmines, noting that workers managed to remove 1,579 land mines and 1,074 cluster bombs during a year.
Labels: Duhuk, Public Corporation for Mines, strikes, Uwaynan Youssef
Friday, May 11, 2007
Iraq's oil workers threaten to strike on Monday
Oil
(UPI) - Iraq's government will respond to oil workers who have delayed a strike that could take 1.6 million barrels per day from the market. In a news release Tuesday, the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions said it would stop work Thursday in opposition of the proposed hydrocarbons law, as well as other worker conditions.
Michael Eisenscher, national coordinator of U.S. Labor Against the War, said the workers postponed the strike until Monday "because they had a conversation with somebody at the Oil Ministry who said they wanted to respond to workers demands and needed time to prepare a response." USLAW is a coalition of labor unions in regular communication with Iraqi workers, including organizing a tour of the United States for Iraqi labor leaders in June.
The IFOU boasts more than 26,000 members, mostly in the southern region where most of Iraq's 2 million bpd are produced and all of the 1.6 million bpd are exported. The vast majority of that goes through the port of Basra. "If the port were to close down, that's one way of bottling it up," Eisenscher said, as well as utilizing "critical workers in the pipeline area or refineries."
The unions have struck before, successfully fighting wage decreases and privatization. "It's an issue of such import to them that I can't imagine they wouldn't have tremendous support for workers," Eisenscher said. The unions oppose language that they deem offers too much of Iraq's 115 billion barrels of proven reserves to foreign companies.
"Since we are working to make progress in production, we need a real participation in all the laws that are related to the oil policy," IFOU President Hassan Jumaa Awad told United Press International in March. "We are the sons of this sector, and we have the management and technical capability and we have the knowledge on all the oil fields."
Michael Eisenscher, national coordinator of U.S. Labor Against the War, said the workers postponed the strike until Monday "because they had a conversation with somebody at the Oil Ministry who said they wanted to respond to workers demands and needed time to prepare a response." USLAW is a coalition of labor unions in regular communication with Iraqi workers, including organizing a tour of the United States for Iraqi labor leaders in June.
The IFOU boasts more than 26,000 members, mostly in the southern region where most of Iraq's 2 million bpd are produced and all of the 1.6 million bpd are exported. The vast majority of that goes through the port of Basra. "If the port were to close down, that's one way of bottling it up," Eisenscher said, as well as utilizing "critical workers in the pipeline area or refineries."
The unions have struck before, successfully fighting wage decreases and privatization. "It's an issue of such import to them that I can't imagine they wouldn't have tremendous support for workers," Eisenscher said. The unions oppose language that they deem offers too much of Iraq's 115 billion barrels of proven reserves to foreign companies.
"Since we are working to make progress in production, we need a real participation in all the laws that are related to the oil policy," IFOU President Hassan Jumaa Awad told United Press International in March. "We are the sons of this sector, and we have the management and technical capability and we have the knowledge on all the oil fields."
Labels: Hassan Jumaa Awad, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, oil workers, strikes
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Teachers in Wassit threaten to go on strike
Security
(VOI) - Teachers in the southern Iraqi province of Wassit threatened, on Wednesday, to suspend working at schools in the province in early April if no salary rise is given, head of teachers union in Wassit said. "Teachers in the teachers union will suspend working at schools on April 1st if no measures are taken to improve their living conditions, including a salary raise," Fadhel Abbas Majid told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Teachers in Iraq are given an average of monthly pay of approximately 300,000 Iraqi dinars (approximately $200) in a country where house rent eats up to 150,000 Iraqi dinars. He added, "we also demand a new pay scale that takes into account years of experience and allowances, and offers allowances to cover transportation to and from the school. "The teachers union, a civil society organization, was established in 2004. Most teachers in Wassit province, 180 km southeast of Baghdad, are members of it.
Labels: strikes, teachers, Wassit
Friday, February 16, 2007
Strikes in Mosul over fuel shortages
(Azzaman) Taxi and bus drivers are staging a strike in the northern city of Mosul over fuel shortages. The strike has almost brought life to a standstill in the city home to nearly two million people. Drivers taking part in the strike said they had not received their share of subsidized petrol for more than a month.
Iraq’s fuel crisis started shortly after the U.S. invasion and has since aggravated and is felt across the country. Fuel is extremely hard to get and the scanty quantities available in the spot market are beyond the reach of the majority of Iraqis.
The head of the transport union in the Province of Nineveh of which Mosul is the capital said the drivers went on strike without telling the union. “Nonetheless, we support them and will offer whatever it needs to have their demands satisfied,” said Shafaa Taha, the transport union chief. He accused the local authorities of failing to honor promises to provide drivers with the fuel they need.
“Most private factories in Mosul are idle for lack of fuel and as result a great number of workers are without jobs, exacerbating unemployment,” he said. A source at the State Company for Oil Products in the north said Mosul has been without fuel supplies for over a month. He aid the city needed one million liters of gasoline a day and 700 tons of liquefied gas. The refinery complex in Baiji, north of Baghdad, used to supply the city with its fuel needs. But the source alleged that corruption and mismanagement were preventing the complex from working “properly”. “The refinery is under the influence of a mafia-like gang which controls production and distribution,” he said.
Iraq’s fuel crisis started shortly after the U.S. invasion and has since aggravated and is felt across the country. Fuel is extremely hard to get and the scanty quantities available in the spot market are beyond the reach of the majority of Iraqis.
The head of the transport union in the Province of Nineveh of which Mosul is the capital said the drivers went on strike without telling the union. “Nonetheless, we support them and will offer whatever it needs to have their demands satisfied,” said Shafaa Taha, the transport union chief. He accused the local authorities of failing to honor promises to provide drivers with the fuel they need.
“Most private factories in Mosul are idle for lack of fuel and as result a great number of workers are without jobs, exacerbating unemployment,” he said. A source at the State Company for Oil Products in the north said Mosul has been without fuel supplies for over a month. He aid the city needed one million liters of gasoline a day and 700 tons of liquefied gas. The refinery complex in Baiji, north of Baghdad, used to supply the city with its fuel needs. But the source alleged that corruption and mismanagement were preventing the complex from working “properly”. “The refinery is under the influence of a mafia-like gang which controls production and distribution,” he said.
