Founding declaration of the Organization of

Unity against Unemployment in Iraq - UAU

The economy in Iraq was destroyed by war which had led to wide spread of poverty and deprivation in society. The devastation of war and spread of terrorism and fighting was accompanied by the destruction of infrastructure and the loss of jobs and widespread of unemployment among workers and the absence of a system of social benefit for the unemployed and rapid deepening of miserable situation for millions. This is happening at the time when vast wealth has been accumulating in the hands of few bourgeois groups and parties, while poverty is widespread among the majority and the gap between classes is widening.

Improving the living conditions of the masses is linked to better security conditions and the provision of jobs to millions of unemployed workers. Changing the current  situation through the willpower of the masses is possible and necessary by consolidating the forces of unemployed workers in an organization that aims to struggle to provide employment opportunities or benefits for each person able to work in Iraq and is 16 years of age or older. The need for the disadvantaged people in Iraq to organize and defend their interests and form an organization is a dire and immediate need.  This depends on organizing the ranks of the unemployed in an organization that could represent them and defend their interests.

We, the undersigned, the unemployed and activists in labor rights organizations decided herein to form Unity Against Unemployment in Iraq.

 The goals of our Organization:

We work to:

• build a strong organization of the unemployed in order to find jobs for all workers, men and women who are 16 years of age and able to work;

• draw the attention of society in Iraq to unemployment, highlighting the plight of millions of unemployed men and women;

• build up a fight-back front to stop the violations of capitalists and the state against the unemployed workers and to confront the ruling parties manipulating employment opportunities;

• work to end anti-labor laws at large, and replace them with laws that guarantee the rights of laid-off workers;

• Ensure that all job appointments shall be based on the principle of equal opportunities for all, regardless of political, religious, national, sectarian, tribal, or sexual affiliations;

• strengthen the voice of the unemployed and identify exploitation and deprivation against them, wherever and whenever it happens on a global scale;

• draw together support for the unemployed in Iraq from labor organizations and humanitarian organizations all over the world.

We call on all workers, and unemployed people in all parts of Iraq to join the Organization of the Unity Against Unemployment in Iraq, and to strengthen and expand their ranks and become a social force capable of ending the current situation and to provide humane alternatives to all the unemployed and improve their quality of life and the lives of their families and to end the misery and deprivation in whole of Iraqi society.

The signatories:

Abbas Kamil, Khalefa Jabr, Sa'ad Kamil, Huda Khuthaer, Ammar Abdul Hussien, Ma'an Shamali, Thaer Mohammed, Isra' Mushrif  (Um Salam), Taha Hussien, Diya' Ahmad, Faisal Hussien, Saddam Jum'a, Raji Suheil, Khalil Ismael, Sardar Abdullah

January 1^st 2011