Statement of the 1st Trade Union Seminar of the Left in Arab Countries
Towards a Democratic and Militant Trade Union Movement
The first trade union
seminar of the Left in Arab countries was convened during the period 24 to 26
October 2013 under the theme "Towards a Democratic and Militant Trade
Union Movement” in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. It was attended by various political
parties and organisations of the Left in the Arab countries, as well as trade
unionist figures, and hosted by the Iraqi Communist Party and the Kurdistan
Communist Party - Iraq.
The focus in the
Seminar was on exchanging views and discussing the reality of trade unionist
work and trade unions in the Arab countries, and ways and mechanisms for
coordination and joint action between Left trade unionists, as well as coordination
between the Left and democratic forces in our countries to support efforts to
mobilize the trade union action and activate its role. This is essential to
ensure that trade unions and federations, especially labour unions, regain
their natural status and carry out their fundamental tasks of defending the
rights and interests of the working class and confront government, sectarian
and narrow partisan interference in trade union matters. This would help to
thwart attempts by outsiders to dominate the trade union movement and to fortify
it against all forms of deviations, so that these unions would exercise their
professional role, as well as shouldering their share of national struggle
required for democracy and social justice, alongside democratic and social mass
movements.
During the three
days of the Seminar, extensive discussions took place between the
representatives of the participating parties and organizations. The sessions of
the first day dealt with the political developments in the region and their
impact on its peoples. Comrade Hameed Majid Mousa, the Secretary of the Central
Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party, addressed the Seminar and dealt
extensively with the tasks of the Left forces in the Arab countries, in order
to activate their role and to maximize their contribution to the struggle of
our peoples for true democracy and social justice. His contribution stressed
the need to defend the issues and interests of our peoples against foreign
intervention and attempts to impose hegemony and tear up national unity of our
peoples. In the forefront of these issues is the struggle of the Palestinian
people to liberate their territories from the Israeli occupation, establish an
independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and to guarantee
the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland in accordance
with UN resolution 194.
The sessions in
the second and third days of the seminar dealt with two main topics that were
presented in an extensive working paper prepared by the follow-up committee of
the “Arab Left Meeting”, namely:
- Manifestations of the crisis of the world capitalist economy.
- Arab Left trade union action and current tasks.
The delegates
engaged in a serious and frank discussion that expressed various opinions about
many aspects of the important topics contained in the working paper. Special
attention was given to topics concerning ways and frameworks of coordination between
Left and democratic trade unionists in the Arab countries, and the position
with regard to the existing Arab, regional and international trade union
federations. The discussions also dealt with questions such as: Do we talk
about the work of Left trade unionists or expand include democratic and
national professional trade unionists? What are the issues that our trade union
struggle should focus on, on the economic, social, political and cultural
levels.
The participants
in the Seminar agreed on the importance of the formation of a joint
coordination committee to follow up on trade union action, as a first step to
coordinate joint efforts and common positions in the fields of trade union
action, as well as continuing research and submitting practical proposals and
perceptions to deepen and broaden the mechanisms and extent of joint Left
cooperation in these important areas of struggle. The meeting issued a programme which contained guidelines for action in the coming
period.
The Seminar also
stressed the importance of keeping the door open for discussion and dialogue on
other topics that delegates were convinced needed further exchange of opinions
and consultation.
The delegates
reaffirmed their full solidarity with the struggles of the working class and
trade unions in a number of Arab countries to enact labour legislations, and a law
for trade union freedoms, that are in line with the relevant international
standards and conventions of trade union work. This is essential in order to usurp
the right of trade unions to freedom of trade union work in the public and
private sectors and in all other fields of work.
The participants in
the Trade Union Seminar included representatives of the Sudanese
Communist Party, the Palestinian People’s Party, the Lebanese Communist Party,
the Egyptian Communist Party, the Jordanian Communist Party, the Party of
Progress and Socialism in Morocco, the Progressive Movement in Kuwait, the
Progressive Democratic Forum in Bahrain, the Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian Liberation Front, the Iraqi Communist
Party, the Kurdistan Communist Party - Iraq.
Erbil – Iraq
26 October 2013
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