Worker Rights. a. The Right of Association The constitution states that citizens have the right to form and join unions and professional associations with certain restrictions. The ▇▇▇▇▇▇-era labor codes, which are still in effect, place limitations and conditions on these rights. Public sector workers who are not executives can legally form or join unions, but regulation classified most public sector workers as executives. Workers in state- owned enterprises can form or join unions. Unions in the public sector and state- owned enterprises are not independent; they are sponsored by the state. Private- sector employees who work at establishments employing more than 50 persons may form and join unions that have limited rights. Private-sector unions have the right to seek government arbitration for labor disputes, but not the right to strike. Labor Law 150 of 1987 is still in effect and states that trade union organizations should "play an effective role in the organization of labor relations, in the protection of workers' rights, and in the development of their personalities." However, it declares virtually all public sector workers to be government "executives," and therefore legally ineligible to form or to join unions. The rights of migrant workers are not covered under this law. The provision in effect eliminated unions and the right of association from the large public sector. Although the number of formal unions and associations remains undefined, workers in state-owned enterprises have generally been organized along sectoral lines stemming largely from state employment. The largest sectors with the most active unions or associations are oil/petrochemical, industrial and defense manufacturing, and education. In the private sector, the 1987 Trade Union Organization Law states that employees can form workers' committees, with limited rights of association, in private-sector work sites employing more than 50 workers. Originally, this was also intended to remove the right of association from a majority of private-sector workers because most private-sector businesses employ fewer than 50 workers. Decree 8750 of 2005, which cancelled unions' leadership boards, froze their assets, and formed an interministerial committee to administer unions' assets and assess their capacity to resume activity, also inhibited union activity. The legal and regulatory framework, combined with violence, insecurity, high unemployment, and lack of decent work standards provided for unacceptable conditions for working people. Nevertheless, labor organizations in state-owned enterprises were active during the year despite threats and harassment to union leaders. In January the government imprisoned the president of Basra's Iraqi Teachers Union. In March the president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions was charged with accusations that he was endangering the economy through union activity. On March 18, workers of the Southern Refinery Company held a three- hour strike. On April 1, the company transferred four leaders of the Refinery Workers Union in Basra. On July 21, the government expelled the Electrical Utility Workers Union from its Basra offices. The MOLSA Labor Directorate has jurisdiction over the labor code, child labor, wages, occupational safety and health issues, and labor relations. Although the private sector expanded only modestly during the year, workers in the private sector continued to enjoy the right to form workers' committees at work sites employing fewer than 50 persons. The constitution states that every citizen has the right to demonstrate and strike peacefully in accordance with the law; however the 1987 labor code rules out the existence of public sector labor unions capable of carrying out industrial action and prohibits striking in the public and private sectors. Strikers were harassed and threatened for striking during the year. In March the media reported that security forces (army and police) dispersed an oil worker demonstration in Basra and arrested two demonstrators. According to October 10 press reports, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇'▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, the president and general secretary, respectively, of the Federation of Oil Employees of Iraq were banned from travel outside the country. In June the authorities surrounded protesting longshoremen in Basra and transferred union leaders hundreds of miles from their homes. The government was the largest employer in the country; reliable estimates indicated the public sector accounted for approximately 30 to 35 percent of the total workforce. There were no government-sponsored prosecutions or attacks on trade union activists during the year, although the government appeared to use transfers to remove troublesome union leaders from active union activity.
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