US embassy cable - 04AMMAN8460

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 008460 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, PHUM, KDEM, JO, IZ 
SUBJECT: TENSE ICFTU CONFERENCE FOR IRAQI TRADE UNIONISTS 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 
(ICFTU) held a training seminar on core labor standards for 
Iraqi sectoral unions in Amman October 3-5. While rival union 
leaders at least sat down in the same room, a marked 
improvement over the previous conference, an atmosphere of 
tension and mutual animosity prevailed.  The ICFTU and the 
AFL-CIO affiliated Solidarity Center plan to hold future 
conferences in Amman that will provide more explicitly 
targeted training for working-level Iraqi trade unionists. 
End Summary. 
 
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OLD GUARD - NEW GUARD CLASH 
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2. (SBU) According to Kheireddine Bouslah, a former ICFTU and 
Solidarity Center Senior Program Officer, trade union 
leadership from the former Ba'athist regime has split in two, 
but remains influential among workers in Iraq. The two groups 
have adopted similar monikers: the General Federation of 
Trade Unions (GFTU) and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade 
Unions (GFITU). Policy divisions between the GFTU and the 
GFITU appear minimal and sources participating in the 
conference expect a public announcement of a reconciliation 
in the next few days. Both groups are competing with the new 
IIG-recognized federation, known as the Iraqi Federation of 
Trade Unions (IFTU), which is closely aligned with interim PM 
Allawi's Wiqaf party. The IFTU has reportedly been granted 
access to funds formerly in control of the GFTU under the old 
regime, but according to Bouslah, does not enjoy much 
legitimacy in the eyes of workers. 
 
3. (SBU) IFTU relations with the GFTU and GFITU are far from 
cordial. ICFTU's Amman Office Director, Nezam Qahoush, told 
us that a conference ICFTU organized in Amman fell apart this 
summer as members of the opposing federations refused to sit 
down in the same room with each other. This animosity carried 
over into the most recent conference as tempers almost 
brought the two factions to blows during one of the morning 
sessions. ICFTU and Solidarity Center interlocutors commented 
that the factions remained separate during small group 
sessions, but managed to occupy the same rooms and engage in 
dialogue during general sessions. The ICFTU deliberately 
organized the seminar on a sectoral basis hoping to 
circumvent political hostilities and to attract more local 
activists at a working level. This strategy appeared to have 
met with some success, but unfortunately only union leaders 
from the main federations participated. None of the local 
activists who were targeted by conference organizers 
attended. 
 
4. (U) To help build the capacity of the unions, the ICFTU 
seminar provided instruction on core labor standards as 
defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and how 
to implement them. The ILO also presented the Draft Iraqi 
Labor Code at the seminar. According to the Solidarity 
Center's Regional Program Director, Heba El-Shazli, this 
spurred positive discussions but many groups found the draft 
labor code to be incomplete. 
 
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UNIONS NEED TO ACT MORE LIKE UNIONS 
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5. (SBU) The Solidarity Center's Regional Field 
Representative in Amman, Jim Mangan, told PolOff that the 
leaders of the Iraqi labor sectors are still nowhere near 
sitting down together for real discussions. Mangan felt that 
the Iraqi participants currently see no need to cooperate as 
they compete for power. Mangan and ICFTU's Amman Office 
Director, Nezam Qahoush, both stated that organized labor in 
Iraq needed to break the standard model of labor unions in 
the Middle East - unions with self-interested leaderships, 
cozy with the political and business elite, that provide few 
real benefits to workers. Mangan and Qahoush both saw an 
opportunity in Iraq to form truly democratic labor unions 
that engage in real negotiations for worker rights. Movement 
toward this goal in the short term, however, is unlikely in 
their view, as the historical precedent in Iraq leans heavily 
towards the standard Middle East model as do the IFTU 
newcomers. Mangan and Qahoush plan to use conferences like 
last week's to learn more about the Iraqi labor movement. 
This will help them determine how to implement effective 
assistance. 
 
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PLANS FOR THE FUTURE 
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6. (SBU) The Solidarity Center and ICFTU plan to hold similar 
conferences over the next few months that focus on raising 
the level of awareness of international labor standards and 
building the capacity of Iraqi trade unions to act on behalf 
of worker rights. The Solidarity Center also plans to open a 
training center in Amman for Iraqi labor unionists. 
Solidarity would prefer to conduct training in Baghdad, but 
given ongoing security challenges, views Amman as the most 
logical site. In order to avoid more political fighting like 
last week's, future invitations will clarify that these 
conferences are not intended for union leaders. The 
Solidarity Center and ICFTU want to focus on working-level 
trade unionists in order to foster the basic structures of 
the unions and to help them develop into democratic 
organizations. 
 
7. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site 
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE