Appeal to all Trade unions and progressive
organizations worldwide
Re: holding conference for workers of the southern
Iraq in Basra

Dear friends
Dear freedom loving labour activists

The Federation of worker Councils and trade Unions in
Iraq –FWCUI has determined to hold a conference for
southern Iraq workers in Basra in November 25th 2004.
More than 25 trade unions and labor organizations from
various sectors such as southern oil company trade
union, power distribution company, river
transportation, Harbor workers, constructions, gas
company, etc…. will participate in this conference.
The purpose of this conference is to organize and
unite the workers of the southern region of Iraq and
their struggles (which include Basra, Imara,
Nassiriya, Najaf, and Samawa), also to form an
integrated leadership for the southern workers. The
conference will discuss the following issues:
1. Draft labor law according to the international
standards
2. Methods of the workers interventions in the
political situations in Iraq and the ways of
termination the series of instabilities and
insecurities, formation of a secular and non ethnic
government where the rights of individuals who live in
Iraq are maintained equally regardless of their
gender, religion, nationality, and ethnicity according
to Geneva convection of human rights.
3. Other issues concerns the workers situations in
Iraq
4. The final part is going to be resolutions and
elections to form a united leadership of the workers.

The conference will take two days long and will cost
approximately $15000. It is to cover the cost of
accommodations, transportations, and to maintain
secured atmosphere. The FWCUI is as everyone knows an
independent union who has no support from any
government, and relies in its activities on the
membership fees only. Besides the transitional Iraqi
government who is backed and supported by the American
troops, confirmed the decree Nr. 16 which violates
both ILO conventions Nr.98 and 87 regarding the
freedom of trade unions and had imposed a puppet union
over the workers as the only legal and official
representative of labour movement in Iraq without any
elections, also this union is pro-government union who
receives a huge amount of financial support without
any accountability or legal representation for the
workers. We had filed a complaint in this regard along
with our memorandum and submitted it to the ILO and
other trade unions and organizations around the world.
Your moral and financial support is the only way to
make this conference succeed and it will be considered
as a forward move in the Iraqi society and it will
save it from the ethnic and religious conflicts that
leads to killings of tens of innocent civilians on a
daily bases. Besides is to reintegrate the worker
struggles in Iraq with their colleagues around the
globe after an unwanted separation for more than 35
years.
We call on everyone to participate in this conference
as monitors and we will assure your safety and
security, transportations, and to prepare meetings for
you with the workers and their leaders in Basra,
Baghdad, Nassiriya, Kirkuk, etc….

Aso Jabbar, Representative Abroad of Federation of
Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq-FWCUI and in
charge of Falah Alwan, President of FWCUI

October 2nd 2004

Donations to be returned to this account Address:

Lloyds TSB
UUI
Sort code: 30 94 51
Bank Account: 11610268
PO.BOX 1575
Ilford IG1 3BZ London
Solidarity messages to be returned to this Contact
address abroad:
UUI, Post Box 325, 3000 Bern 11, Switzerland
Tel: 0041 78 882 55 89
Email:  asojabbar@yahoo.com , Webpage: www.uuiraq.org


Houzan Mahmoud
Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq
E-mail:  houzan73@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 00 44 ( 79 56 88 3001)
web; www.equalityiniraq.com