19 January 2005: Railway workers in the Iraqi city of Basra have walked out on strike to voice their anger over a spate of attacks on transport workers across the country.

All-out strike action by railway workers in Basra began at the beginning of January and has led to the suspension of the city’s railway network. The workers are demanding protection following a number of reported terrorist attacks against Iraqi railway workers. These include an ambush on a freight train travelling from Basra to An-Nasiriyah in December, during which two train drivers were kidnapped and five railway workers seriously assaulted. In October, four railway workers were also murdered on a train between Mosul and Baghdad. This was roundly condemned by the ITF’s Railway Workers’ Section conference in November.

The Iraqi Federation of Workers’ Trade Unions (IFTU) is urging the government to help secure the release of kidnapped workers and provide adequate security. An IFTU statement said: “Our working people are paying with their blood and lives for participating in the re-building of their country to end the foreign occupation.”

“The responsibility of protecting the public infrastructure (the transportation of goods and oil) falls on the state, but the state also has the responsibility to protect the lives of workers as they carry out their jobs.”

Mac Urata, ITF Inland Transport Section Secretary, commenting in support of the striking workers, said, “The international labour movement has a duty to highlight the importance of protecting the human rights and safety of workers. These workers are risking their lives every day just trying to earn a living.”

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Source: ITF news online