US embassy cable - 04AMMAN6883

UNCLAS AMMAN 006883 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, ETRD, PREL, KPAL, LE, IZ, SU, JO 
SUBJECT: U.S.-BASHING LEAVES REGIONAL TRADE UNION CONGRESS 
LITTLE TIME TO DISCUSS LABOR ISSUES 
 
1. Summary: Trade Union leaders from across the region used a 
conference in Amman to denounce U.S. foreign policy. One of 
the few real labor issues raised was a dispute with the 
Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. The General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU) 
held its Fifth General Congress on August 14 and 15. The 
opening session featured speeches from the leaders of 
visiting trade unions including the President of the Arab 
Federation of Trade Unions, and representatives from 
Egyptian, Tunisian, and Chinese trade unions. The concurrent 
theme in all of the opening remarks, with the exception of 
the Chinese representative's, was a familiar denunciation of 
American policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, 
Syria and Lebanon. The speakers each expressed support for 
the Palestinian Intifada, and for Lebanese and Syrian 
"struggles" against Israel, including for the Shaba' Farms. 
They also called for an end to "American occupation" in Iraq 
and vowed their support for the Sudanese government against 
the "British-American conspiracy" over Darfur. None of the 
speakers provided any substantive remarks about labor or 
economic policy in Jordan. Minister of Labor Amjad Majali 
provided a brief keynote speech, devoid of foreign policy 
views, promising cooperation with the GFJTU and Jordan's 
seventeen labor unions. 
 
3. The only clear statement on a labor issue during the 
congress was made by the Petrochemical Trade Union of Jordan. 
The union organized a demonstration of between 50 and 100 
people in front of Amman's Jerusalem Hotel where the congress 
was taking place. The protesters carried banners in Arabic 
and English decrying the termination of agreements between 
Unilever and Jordan's publicly-held Industrial Commercial & 
Agricultural Co. LTD. (ICA). According to the Petrochemical 
Trade Union President, Khaled Al-Zyoud, the consequences of 
the Unilever decision will be a loss of 70 million JD (100 
million USD) and between 500 to 750 jobs. Interestingly, 
Al-Zyoud, organized the protest without the knowledge of the 
GFJTU. Al-Zyoud is recognized as one of the more aggressive 
labor leaders in Jordan according contacts in the labor 
unions. The ICA took out a full-page paid advertisement in 
the August 15 English-language Jordan Times airing their 
grievances against Unilever. The dispute has been ongoing 
since 2001. 
 
HALE