Influential Iraqi trade union leader in London

Press advisory from Naftana
29 November 2007

Influential Iraqi trade union leader in London – available for interviews

WHO: Hassan Juma’a, President of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions
WHEN: Friday 30 November – Tuesday 4 December
WHERE: Hassan will be in London for 4 days, including at Stop the War Coalition’s ‘World Against War’ conference, Westminster Central Hall SW1 9NH, Saturday 1 December, 10am – 6pm
CONTACT: to arrange an interview, please contact SABAH JAWAD, 07985 336 886


Anti-war activists will meet on Saturday with one of Iraq’s most influential civil society leaders, who has played a central role in defending the rights of Iraqi oilworkers, and in successfully opposing US and British moves to privatise Iraq’s oil.

Hassan Juma’a, the President of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), will be speaking at Stop the War Coalition’s ‘World Against War’ conference.

The IFOU, which represents more than half of the oilworkers in Iraq’s oil-rich south, has been at the forefront of the campaign by Iraqi civil society groups to stop a US-sponsored oil law – a law which has still not passed, in spite of intense pressure.

If passed, the law would give the primary role in developing Iraq’s oil to multinational companies such as BP, Shell and ExxonMobil, under fixed contracts of up to 30 years. The IFOU opposes the law for surrendering Iraqi sovereignty, and for reflecting the interests of foreign companies over those of the Iraqi people.

Sami Ramadani of Naftana, the UK support committee for the IFOU, comments:

“Whilst our media give a consistently one-sided picture of events in Iraq, on Saturday people in Britain will have a chance to hear some good news: that there is a growing and effective civil society in Iraq. Hassan Juma’a is an inspirational figure, who has worked tirelessly for an Iraq that is peaceful, democratic and non-sectarian. Meanwhile, the occupation forces have claimed these same goals but their actions have sought precisely the opposite.”

The USA has put enormous pressure for the passage of the oil law, including making it a condition for economic assistance, and for political support for the government of Prime Minister al-Maliki. Yet five successive US-imposed deadlines for passing the law – December 2006, and March, May, July and September 2007 – have all been missed in the face of powerful Iraqi opposition.

The IFOU has faced severe repression for its stand. Following strike action in June, the Iraqi government issued arrest warrants issued for Hassan Juma’a and other union leaders, and militarised their workplaces. A month later, the Oil Minister declared the IFOU an illegal organisation, citing legislation from Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship.

However, pressure for the law – and subsequently for long-term production contracts – remains, and the IFOU’s struggle is far from over.

Hassan Juma’a comments:

“We know that the majority of the people of Britain opposed the war. We call on those people in stand with us in defending our economic future, and preventing our resources from being stolen by the brutal occupation and its oil companies”