The Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) is the second largest union federation in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

.

The federation was formed by members of the Union of the Unemployed of Iraq, which is connected to the Worker Communist Party of Iraq as a left-wing alternative to the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions

Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions

The Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions is the largest union federation in Iraq and the only officially recognized trade union body. It was formed in the aftermath of the Iraq War by several groups, most prominently the Iraqi Communist Party, which wished to disassociate itself from the National...

. The latter is currently the only legally recognized union federation in Iraq; it is closely connected to the Iraqi Communist Party

Iraqi Communist Party

Since its foundation in 1934, the Iraqi Communist Party has dominated the left in Iraqi politics. It played a fundamental role in shaping the political history of Iraq between its foundation and the 1970s. The Party was involved in many of the most important national uprisings and demonstrations...

, an organization which opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 but decided to work with the new political institutions established after the occupation.

• This "legal recognition" of one union federation over another is a violation of the International Labour Organisation's Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, to which Iraq and all the occupying powers are signatory.(http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm, look for Convention 87; Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948
  Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948
  The Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise or Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention is an International Labour Organization Convention...
  
  .)

The FWCUI opposes both the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and the Islamist elements of the Iraqi insurgency

Iraqi insurgency

The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...

, and it is often repressed by both the foreign and Islamist forces. Many anti-war

Anti-war

An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...

 movements around the world have provided venues for FWCUI speaker tours. A third labor formation known as the Federation of Oil Unions in Iraq

Federation of Oil Unions in Iraq

Founded in October 2005 from unions that had begun organizing after the invasion, the Federation of Oil Unions of Iraq is the largest independent union consortium in Iraq, with tens of thousands of members...

 also exists.

The FWCUI's members have led a number of strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

s, and are particularly strong around the Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

region.

External links

• Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq and the Union of the Unemployed of Iraq