Hassan Juma'a is the leader of a union that represents almost 30,000 workers in the south of Iraq, from north of Baghdad to the coastal city of Basra. During his tour of the UK in February, organised by Iraq Occupation Focus, Hassan met with unions, environmentalists and anti-war activists, gave talks and wrote articles, with the aim of building direct links between Iraqi and UK workers and activists, and of giving us a better pictire of the, largely unreported, story of oil workers' struggle in occupied Iraq.

While the US and UK governments want to see their corporations doing well out of the occupation, much of Iraq's oil industry still remains nationalised. Under the pressure of $200 billion in debts any 'independent' Iraqi government will also come under pressure to bring in IMF-style economic restructuring plans that include widespread privatisation. The SOCU workers have stated that this will happen over their dead bodies.

The Haliburton subsitiary, Kellogg Brown and Root (known as KBR), is currently being brought in to run the pumping stations of the Southern Oil Company in Iraq. The Iraqi workers are not willing to be elbowed aside, however, and have resisted with strikes and the explulsion of unpopular managers. KBR is backed by several armies of occupation (British, Danish and US troops) as well as a host of mercenary companies, such as the British Control Risks group and the South African Erinys company.

If the Iraqi workers are to succeed in cheating the occupying foces of the oil prize, then they will need to be backed by UK anti-war activists who are willing to put pressure on our government and local corporations.

Iraq Occupation Focus is running the The Southern Oil Company Union Appeal
www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk

Haliburton is well known as the pet company of US Vice-President Dick Cheney, and has a history of doing well from war, from building roads for the US military in South Veitnam in the 1960s, to running the Trident submarine dockyard in Devonport, Plymouth, to building the prison cages at Guantanamo Bay.

Corporate Watch (UK) Haliburton profile
 http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/profiles/haliburton/haliburton.htm

CorpWatch (US) Haliburton profile
 http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=15

Listing of companies based in the UK that are involved in Iraq and campaign against the pillage of Iraq
 http://www.corporatewatch.org/newsletter/issue22/issue22_part9.htm

Articles on mercenaries in Iraq
 http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/news/mercenery.htm
 http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=10288

Ewa Jasiewicz worked with Iraqi unions, including SOCU, for several months in Nov 2003-Jan 2004; read her report
www.workersliberty.org/files/Occupied_Basra_19.pdf