US embassy cable - 04AMMAN9974

UNCLAS AMMAN 009974 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR DRL/IL 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, PHUM, KDEM, JO, IZ 
SUBJECT: ILO CONFERENCE ON EMPLOYMENT IN IRAQ 
 
REF: AMMAN 8460 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) The International Labor Organization (ILO) sponsored 
a conference in Amman on the role of employment in the 
reconstruction of Iraq. The Iraqi Ministers of Labor and 
Planning attended, as well as representatives from 
international organizations, donor countries, and an Iraqi 
labor union. Participants praised a U.S. Department of 
Labor-funded program that creates employment centers. Some 
participants were angered that only representatives of the 
Allawi-friendly Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) were 
invited and no one from the General Federation of Trade 
Unions (GFTU), which is still identified with the Ba'athist 
regime (reftel). End Summary. 
 
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Declaration and Plan of Action 
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2. (U) The ILO sponsored an International Conference on 
Employment in Iraq on December 12-13 in Amman, focusing on 
the crucial role of employment in rebuilding Iraq. The IIG's 
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Leila Abdulatif, and 
Minister of Planning, Mahdi Hafez, attended, in addition to 
representatives from the UN, World Bank, IOM, and Iraqi 
employers' and workers' organizations. The declaration 
adopted by the conference highlighted the gravity of the 
unemployment situation in Iraq and directly linked security 
to the creation of jobs. The plan of action recommended 
increasing reconstruction-related employment by focusing on 
labor-intensive instead of capital-intensive methods. The 
plan calls for the creation of a macroeconomic framework that 
encourages investment and private enterprise. Strengthening 
labor market institutions to meet international labor 
standards was included in the plan as a means to address the 
social dimension of economic reform. The plan specifically 
mentions working with women's organizations to ensure equal 
employment opportunities. The ILO has promised to post the 
documents produced at the conference to its website at 
www.ilo.org. 
 
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DOL-Funded Employment Centers 
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3. (SBU) A program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to 
create integrated employment centers throughout Iraq received 
positive recognition during the conference. Iraqi Minister of 
Planning Hafez stated that 600,000 unemployed Iraqis were 
registered with the centers and that jobs had been found for 
200,000 of them. However, Lorena Londo, the IOM project 
manager who implemented the program, told PolOff that IOM was 
in the process of withdrawing from the program. Londo did not 
expect to receive any additional funding to extend IOM's 
participation. Overall she felt the program was successful 
given the operating conditions in Iraq. Londo expected the 
Iraqi Ministry of Labor (MOL) to carry on with the centers 
for a short time. However, she cautioned that the centers 
could easily lose out in the battle for funding if management 
changes within the Iraqi MOL did not provide a leader to 
champion the program. 
 
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IFTU vs GFTU 
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4. (SBU) The IFTU, a labor federation with close ties to PM 
Allawi, was the only Iraqi union to participate in the 
conference. The GFTU, a hold-over from the Ba'athist regime, 
was conspicuously absent. ILO Regional Director Taleb Rifai 
expressed disappointment that the GFTU had not been invited 
to participate in a conference that so directly affected 
their interests. According to Rifai, all players in the Iraqi 
labor movement must be included in the dialogue in order to 
ensure legitimacy. The ILO organized the conference, but 
clearly Rifai did not play a large role in the planning 
process. He apologized during the closing session for what he 
called "logistical" errors. 
 
5. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
HALE