The 9th Report of the Iraqi Observatory for Workers and Employees Rights
Report No.9 for 2022
For the period (1st of July 2022 – 30th of September 2022)
Contact Information:
E-mail Address: almrsdalraqy@gmail.com
WhatsApp: 009647801366740
009647719892465
Website: https://almrsd-alaraqi.blogspot.com/
Despite the challenges that are facing the observatory staff for the Iraqi Observatory of Workers and Employees rights, yet they are still working seriously to observe all the violations that the workers and employees face which can have summarized as following:
- The Arab Trade Union Confederation supports the Iraqi workers in their struggle for an independent union movement
The Arab Trade Union Confederation expressed their solidarity with the Iraqi Workers Unions movement in its struggle to guarantee its dependency without interfering in its internal affairs and building a democratic union movement, free and independent.
This was mentioned in the endnote statement of the third conference of The Arab Trade Union Confederation that was conducted in Oran Algerian city in the 14th and 15th of September 2022.
The statement also called for the initiation of legislating a law for syndicalist organization according to the international work standards and the two international agreements in 1987 and 1998 which was agreed on by Iraq, and the Arab Union also called for the Iraqi government not to monopolize the only syndicalist representation. The Arab Trade Union Confederation has expressed its solidarity and support to the syndicalist Iraqi workers’ movement to legislate a retirement law and social security for workers which is compatible with international standards to saves the earned rights which was accomplished with the struggle and strife of the Iraqi workers all these decades. - Demonstrations of the Ministry of Health workers.
– On the 3rd of July, the graduates of science departments listed under the contracts of the health department in Karbala demonstrated, demanding their overdue salaries despite their assignment under the Federal Service Council.
– On the 1st of August, there was a protest for the temporary contracts of the Ministry of Health which they worked for more than 2 years, protesting and closing the Najaf health department building entrance, protesting for not receiving permanent contracts.
– On the 15th of August, the science workers protested in front of the Ministry of Health, demanding to pay their salaries which was overdue by 8 months, and it they didn’t receive them. - Demonstrations of the Ministry of Oil’s Workers
– On the 3rd of July, there was a demonstration for the employees of the south refineries company, demanding to count their educational degrees in their contract.
– On the 5th of July, the trainees of Missan Oil Company protested in front of the company, demanding work contracts.
– On the 7th of July, the employees of GAS FILLING COMPANY conducted a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Oil building, demanding to count their educational degree in their contracts and on the 16th of August, they re-protested just like their peers.
– On the 22nd Of July, the employees of Oil Exploration Company demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Oil, demanding a safe work environment and changing the work shifts.
– On the 25th of July, the employees of Basra Oil Company in Bab Az Zubayr, demanding their rights, one of them is paying their profits and moving the constant salaries and giving permanent contracts to the temporary ones and changing the daily payment workers into contracts.
– On the 14th of August, the daily payment employees of a number of oil companies in Basrah close the gates of Basra Oil Company, protesting for not putting them back to work after their service was over for no reason according to them, and on the 15th of August, they closed SOC site Ziggurat protesting for not putting them back to work. - Protests of the Iraqi High Commission for Elections
On the 25th of July, the temporary contracts of the Iraqi High Commission for Elections protested in front of the green zone, demanding to transform their contract from a temporary one to a permanent just like their peers in the other countries as an implementation of the food security law which the Ministry of Finance rejected to apply on this oppressed segment which they suffered for years of marginalization and unfairness. - Demonstrations of the workers in the Ministry of Industry and Minerals.
On the 16th of August, the retirees of the General Company for Petro-Chemical Industries were prevented to visit the administration after they tried to know more details about their retirement rights that are overdue for over a year. - Demonstrations demanding job opportunities
– On the 5th of July, demonstrations were launched by the bonds of graduates from the technical institutes and colleges in Dhi Qar governorate, demanding jobs.
– On the 5th of July, the demonstrations by the science department continues in front of the Basra Oil Company, demanding job opportunities in the company.
– On the 5th of July, hundreds of oil engineering graduates and other departments came to protest in front of the Green Zone demanding many things like:
1- Jobs and permanent contracts.
2- Counting educational degrees and adjusting the engineering financial concessions.
3- Counting educational degrees.
– On the 17th of July, there was a demonstration in front of Dhi Qar governorate building, demanding jobs as well another member of graduates protested in front of Dhi Qar Oil Company building, demanding job opportunities for them.
– On the 24th of July, a number of graduates closed Dhi Qar Oil Company demanding jobs.
– On the 15th of August, there was a demonstration of higher education and the top students in front of the Ministry of Finance, refusing their exclusion from applying on the jobs and also rejected the Ministry of Finance’s recommendations which go against the food security law.
– On the 16th of August, the graduates of education department for the non-lecturers have closed Najaf’s Education directorate.
– On the 17th of July, there was a sit-in protest by the trainees of North Oil Company in Kirkuk, demanding to have an exception in the food security law to be included in jobs, and on the 22nd of August, they re-protested and closed the building of Kirkuk governorate until they meet their demands, demanding jobs after 4 years of marginalization.
– On the 5th of September, the science department graduates protested in front of Federal Service Council building, demanding to launch the job form.
– On the 21st of September, the graduates of administration and economy department closed Al Zaitoon Bridge, demanding jobs.
7. Demonstrations of Workers in Ministry of Education directorates
- On the 24th of July, the educational and administrative lecturers of 2020 in Basrah protested in front of the gates of province, demanding to send their administrative order and to have contracts like their peers in Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf and Al-Anbar.
- On the 25th of July, there were demonstrations by the lecturers of Ministry of Education in Kurdistan Region in Garmian administration in Sulaimaniyah for 3 days, demanding to receive their rights as the rest of the teachers.
- On the 8th of August, the lecturers and administrators of Diwaniya governorate marched Al-Mawakib street rejecting the Ministry of Finance decision and marginalizing 5 provinces.
- On the 23rd of August, the employees of Dhi Qar education department closed the education building, demanding plots of land.
- On the 28th of August, the employees of the education office of Basrah conducted a protest against the threats and the repeated offense by some social media pages which offenses the educational process. The protest also included the assistant of general manager and managers of both departments and sections, where they denounced the pressures they got exposed to, especially the financial and educational departments and the permanent contracts and also the legal departments, so they decided to file lawsuits to the relevant stakeholders to uncover the owners of these pages and to send them to the courts and demanded the security stakeholders to provide the needed protection the educational association.
8. Demonstrations of the Higher Education Workers.
On the 18th of August, there was a protest for the temporary contracts of the Ministry of Higher Education in front of the Ministry of Finances until they withdraw the decision of excluding them, and to include them in the financial privileges according to the food security law. They also protested again on the 24th of August, and they conducted a mobilizing demonstration on the 29th of August, marching to building of Ministry of Higher Education, demanding to include their demands in the assembly of the ministers.
9. The temporary contracts of Shiite shrines demonstrating in Baghdad.
On the 22nd of August, a number of the temporary contracts in the Shiite shrines protested in the center of Baghdad, demanding permanent contracts.
10. The retirees of Basrah educational department protested - On the 27th of August, a number of retirees (previously from the educational staff) in the educational department of Basrah demonstrated in front of the governorate office building, demanding the relevant stakeholders to pay their paused retirement salaries and their end of services and they are about 1400 retirees.
The Injuries and Deaths
| No. | Governorate | Month | Injuries | Deaths | Notes |
| 1 | Sulaymaniyah | July September | 1 | 1 1 | On the 11th of July, a Turkish worker died as he fell off the Marina Building On the 2nd of September, the death of a son and injury of his father due to an explosion in the iron yard in Kifri district. |
| 2 | Al Anbar | August | 2 | On the 21st of August, the death of 2 workers due to a fire in a wood smith in Fallujah | |
| 3 | Dhi Qar | July | 1 | On the 28th of July, a municipality worker died to a gunshot | |
| 4 | Diyala | July | 3 | 2 1 | On the 23rd of July, 3 workers were injured and 2 dead due to a fire in the fireworks factory in Khanaqin district On the 25th of July, the dustman Ayad Mohammed died because of a heart attack in Khanaqin district |
| 5 | Baghdad | July September | 1 | 1 2 | On the 7th of July, an Egyptian worker died burning inside Baghdad Airport On the 27th of July, 2 workers died in the bakery they worked in by fire in Al-Sadr City – East of Baghdad On the 25th of September, a firefighter was injured after saving an employee in a fire in the Shiite Endowment Office |
| Total Number | 5 | 11 |
Iraqi observatory for workers and employees’ rights (Brief Summary)
Since the establishment of the Iraqi observatory for workers’ and employees’ rights in early 2020 by a group of syndicate activists, civil society activists, and defenders who believe in syndicate liberties and social justice, for what the workers and employees endure from injustice and violations by the hand of government and employers, also for what the political and union circumstances due to the lack of just laws that would protect workers and their syndicates which led to the regression of liberal syndicates. The observatory aims to observe, document, evaluate workers’ and employees’ rights, and create reports, studies and present them to interested parties regarding their findings, accompanied by suggestions and recommendations aiming to reinforce workers’ rights and syndicate’s liberties in the republic of Iraq in addition to providing moral and physiological support through providing counsel and studies to provide an appropriate working environment. It aims also to enforce democratic concepts by building peace to ensure the rights of these marginalized groups- The observatory does not consider itself to be a replacement for governmental institutes but a partner, since its members are part of society that inspires its sense of nationality and Sense of responsibility in growing society and maintaining its earnings and rights to determine the issues and place working solutions through the reports, hence deliver it to relevant parties as the observatory ensures positive approaches and non-violent methods of expressing opinions, condemning violations and demanding rights and non-violence and trespassing public and private properties ensuring the growth of social peace which is a necessary factor for an improved society
Observatory management
