Well, I met with some workers at Daurra as well and they came with myself and a friend, away from the refinery and the unionists there and told us, at much risk, that the elections were fixed. They said that the Union leadership had been against the three wildcat strikes that took places at the plant, which were organised outside of the Union and the Union leadership themselves said that the strikes couldnt happen again as 'they would harm the national interest'. The Director General Dithar Khashab of the refinery - called 'a fascist' by many and whose role is unclear in the massacrees of workers that took place at Daurra in 1972 (20 killed) and 1978 (18) but who was a former Baathist. He thinks 'privatisation is good becuase it keeps workers in fear. In fear of their jobs' and he wholehearedly supports the union. The union has also been recognised by the Occupation Authorities too - when no other union has been. Its not a representative union. Its essentially steered by the management of the refinery and it shouldnt be trusted as an expression of workers autonomy or struggle. Its a company union. It exisits to co-opt worker sstruggle and sedate it, neautralise it and in a critical crucial point of capital accumulation and convection like Daurra Oil Refinery - workers will be facing massive restrictions and controls, just like they did under the Baath and a fake union to give them a semblance of control or bargaining potential is a necessary mechanism of worker repression.

Khashab himeslf admitted that he wished he could have dealt with the stoppages 'peacefully' He never elaborated on how he Did deal with them.

I was taking care of a US delegation of trade unionists in Baghdad and we met many many new fake unions, all cooperating with management, 'we support our boss, he supports us, he wants to help us but he cant' was the oft heard refrain. The Gaylani Oil Transportation Company was one such place.

This is just a word of caution. Its within the intesrests of the occupiers and the bosses to have new false activity and struggle absorbant unions to contain workers' struggle, now at this volatile period more than ever. Ane especially as many baathists are still in power controling industry, especially the most critical oil industry. We need to scratch the surface and get beyond the theatrics and meet the really vulnerable autonomously organising workers out there, who wont talk infront of 'their union' or bosses or somethimes not even in their own workplace. People are still very very afraid of speaking out, especially to foreigners.

This is not a critique of the delegation or its' efforts which I think were great but just on another point, the Iraqi Confederation of Trade Unions is not the only body organising or representing workers. There are other more underground initiatives going on and the Worker Communist Party (BIG conflict between them and the Iraqi Communist Party, so if they were helping to organise the delegation then they wouldnt have let you anywhere near them as it is they thoroughly sclded me and tried to dissaude me from having anything to do with them in a really underhand and utterly patronising way but, thats political infighting for you) is helping to organise too, on a more independent level as far as i can see. But whatever, alla ya tikolaerfye (good work now take your rest - Palestinian arabic saying) to all of the Stop The War delegation for braving Baghdad.