Iraqi Union Leader Wins Workers’ Unpaid Wages after Solidarity Center Training

My name is Sultan Mutlag Ahmed, president of Salah Al Din’s branch of the General Federation of Workers’ Unions in Iraq (GFWUI). I participated in a workshop organized by the international Solidarity Center on Iraqi Labor Law, and it was a very valuable workshop. After completing the workshop, I was able to implement strategies discussed at the workshop. Specifically: There was a contractor who hired workers for five months, but only paid them for two months. He refused to pay for the whole period because he didn’t need them for the entire five months.

So we at the workers union intervened and convinced the contractor that he has to pay. He first said that the agreement he had with the workers was verbal and not written so I told him it doesn’t matter if it was verbal or written. I also called the chairperson of court, the labor court in Salah Al Din, and when he called the contractor he decided to pay the workers for the entire five months. I told the contractor that before he pays them, he needs to sign a written contract with them, so he signed a contract and paid them the money, and the issue was resolved, thank God.