*The Iraqi Government Must Listen to the Stakeholders: Repeal the Social
Security Draft Law*



*Joint statement for immediate release *

*The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) and the Iraqi Social
Forum (ISF) *

*Baghdad - 9 Aug 2017*



On Tuesday, 1 August 2017, the Iraqi cabinet approved a new law on social
security, despite widespread opposition to many of its provisions by Iraqi
trade unions. The unions oppose the draft law because it does not meet
international labor standards that exist to ensure that the rights and
needs of workers, employees and retirees are protected.

The government ignored comments and objections that came from an important
group of Iraqi trade unions, labor unions and civil society organizations.
The draft law appears to have been based on advice from the World Bank to
the Iraqi government, pressuring it to pass a new social security law, as
part of its structural adjustment program, and a pre-condition Iraq’s
receiving new loans. The government’s draft law is titled, “Social Security
Law”, and today it is on the agenda of the parliament awaiting discussion.

Iraqi unions and organizations called on their international counterparts
to send messages of solidarity, and to call on the President of the Iraqi
Council of Representatives to return the draft to the government until it
is discussed with all relevant stakeholders, including trade unions, labor
unions and civil society organizations.

On the 3rd of August 2017, the Conference of Iraqi Federations and Workers
Unions [CIFWU] issued a detailed statement explaining the position of its
members:

General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions (GFITU)

Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI)

General Federation of Workers’ Unions in Iraq (GFWUI)

Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)

Federation of Independent Trade Professional Unions in Iraq (FITPUI)

Professional Engineering Union (PEU)

CIFWUF members agree on the need to work on a new law for social security,
and refuse to support the law in its current form, which has been put
before parliament without any meaningful dialogue with trade unions, and
other stakeholders about its content. The Conference calls on the Iraqi
government, represented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, to
hold a meeting with representatives of trade union organizations to
initiate this crucial discourse between all those who will be most affected
by the new law.

The Conference affirms that the new draft law utterly fails to meet
International Labor Organization (ILO) standards, which ensure specific
social guarantees for workers, in particular Convention No. 102 and
Recommendation No. 202 on Social Protection Floors Recommendation. It also
opposes the new draft since it is:

·         Integrating the Pension and Social Security Fund with the
National Pension Fund.

·         Increasing the percentage of labor partnerships.

·         Raising the retirement age of workers from 63 to 65 in all work
sectors.

·         Not addressing the needs of working women who wish to retire in
special cases.

·         Not allowing retired workers to access the privileges due them as
approved by Law No. 39 of 1971.

·         Not improving the mechanisms used to calculate pensions, end of
service benefits and payment method for workers and employees.

The Conference warned against the danger of passing privatization policies
without sufficient research on the likely effects of these policies. Such
policies may encourage many employees to retire without sufficient
guarantees. The draft law is devoid of social vision, and instead clearly
favors a private sector that seeks quick profit at the expense of the
productive economic sectors.

According to Conference members, the experience of "reforming" the social
protection programs implemented by the former Iraqi government, which were
in line with the World Bank's proposals — including rationalizing subsidies
and moving from comprehensive food subsidies to a cash transfer program —
has proved, beyond a doubt, that the Iraqi government is unable to deliver
decent social protection for the poorest groups in Iraq.

In its statement, the Conference called upon the Government and the Iraqi
Council of Representatives to ratify the International Labor Conventions on
Social Security, in particular Conventions No. 102, No. 128, No. 121, No.
157, No. 168, No. 183, No. 130, as well as Convention No. 87 on Trade Union
Freedoms and Protection of the Right of Association, and Convention No. 129
on Labor Inspection in Agriculture and other related conventions.

Representatives from Iraqi trade unions and civil society organizations
affirm their readiness to cooperate and collaborate fully with all
concerned bodies and the ILO to adopt a comprehensive social protection
law, based on the principle that social security is a fundamental human
right, a right that should be guaranteed to all Iraqi people.

The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI), an international
non-governmental coalition, and the Iraqi Social Forum (ISF), an Iraqi civil
society platform with a specialized track for social and economic rights,
both express their absolute solidarity with the Iraqi Conference of Iraqi
Federations and Workers Unions and Iraqi civil society representatives in
their legitimate demands, as set out in their statement. They call upon the
UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the European Union Representative
in Iraq, and International Labor Organization (ILO) representatives to act
immediately to urge the Iraqi government to initiate social dialogue, and
to acknowledge that legislation of such importance, that will profoundly
impact so many, demands in-depth dialogue with stakeholders, and
involvement of their representatives in every stage of legislative writing.

They also call on the Iraqi government to respond to the call from
representatives of trade and labor unions, and to hold an urgent meeting to
discuss the withdrawal of the current draft law, offering a real
opportunity for dialogue.

They send an urgent message to the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of
Representatives, Mr. Salim al-Jubouri, urging that he return the draft law
to the government because it does not meet international standards, and is
not based on genuine dialogue with affected stakeholders.

-------------

For more information contact:

*T**he Iraqi Social Forum (ISF) *

*Tel:   +964 771187676  *

*  or visit : **http://iraqsf.org* <http://iraqsf.org/>



*The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI)*

*Tel:       +9647736313516 *

* or visit: **http://www.iraqicivilsociety.org*
<http://www.iraqicivilsociety.org/>

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