June 18 / 19, 2005

Behind the IFTU Controversy
Does Iraq's Main Labor Union Support the Occupation?

By LEE SUSTAR

A tour of the U.S. by Iraqi labor leaders has highlighted a controversy about that country's best-known labor federation-the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU).

The debate hinges on the IFTU's support for the U.S. occupation, its close ties to the former occupation-appointed government of Iyad Allawi, its takeover of assets and membership lists from Saddam Hussein's government-controlled unions, and its status under the occupation-appointed regime's Decree Number 16 as the sole legal union federation in Iraq today.
www.counterpunch.org/sustar06182005.html