Unison and Iraqi Trade Unions

Hak Mao reports on the welcome of the Unison conference to Iraqi Trade Union delegates. The coverage on the Iraqi Trade Union website is a tad ambivalent

Delegates then called for international aid for the reconstruction of Iraq to be provided unconditionally and for the early withdrawal of troops by no later than the end of this year.

They also committed to work with all legitimate, independent and democratic trade unions in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan.

UNISON deputy general secretary, Keith Sonnet, said that although conference recognises the rights of the Iraqi people to resist the occupation it cannot support the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the murder of trade unionists.

“We condemn the continuing violence in Iraq and salute the courage of the Iraqi and Kurdish people,” he said.

He also pointed out that in the Iraqi election campaign most political parties campaigned on the basis that the occupation must end.

Those words legitimate, independent are laden with meaning. The objectively fascist Stoppers do not see the IFTU as a legitimate, independent and democratic trade union so can claim Unison supports their wrong position.

Others, like me, use them to support organisations like the IFTU. It's a compromise motion that everybody agrees to, thinking they have done something towards their own standpoint.

Instead of leaving every objectively fascist sect to decide which organisations are supported by their union let's have a statement that mentions which legitimate, independent and democratic trade unions Unison do support.