A Joint Statement
Issued by the Iraqi Trade Unions Concerning the Programs of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund in
The Iraqi economy has been severely affected by decades of sanctions, wars and occupation.
The Iraqi trade unions and federations believe in the capacity of the country
with all its oil and mineral resources to provide a decent living standard for
Iraqis.
The federations and unions consider that the wars and occupation have caused a
dramatic decrease in the living and social standards of Iraqis and especially
of workers.
The federations and unions stress the importance of complete sovereignty for
1) Increasing transparency and additional
representation for
2) To stop imposing structural adjustment
conditions for loans.
3) Agreeing to provide funding for public
services and state-owned enterprises without demanding their privatization.
4) Canceling debts owed
by
5) Rejecting the reduction of spending on social
services especially the elimination of government support for the food distribution
system or the reduction of the number of items covered.
6) Strongly rejecting the privatization of
publicly owned entities and especially of the oil, education, health,
electricity, transportation and construction sectors.
7) Rejecting the increase in the price of
petroleum products, considering the negative impact of the increase on the
living standards of Iraqis.
8) Adopting a new labor
law and a pension and social security law that assure workers' rights and are in
conformity with international labor standards and
human rights conventions. The World Bank and the IMF must also respect these standards .
The unions and federations that have signed this statement announce the formation
of a permanent coordinating committee that will make its positions known to the
Iraqi Government and to the IFIs. They also demand
that the IFIs engage in dialogue, discussion and
negotiations with the trade union federations regarding their policies in
Finally, they request the assistance of international trade union organizations
to provide all possible support to the above-mentioned demands.
(Signed)
General Federation of Iraqi Workers
Oil Unions Federation in
Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq-FWCUI
Iraqi