The General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) was a major federation of

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

prior to 2005, when it merged with the

Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions The Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) was the largest union federation in Iraq in the first half of the 2000s and, under Decree No. 16 in January 2004, the only one recognized by the Iraqi government. This, along with the organization's alli ...

and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions to the General Federation of Iraqi Workers. During the rule of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

, a 1986 legislation established that GFTU was the sole legal trade union in Iraq. GFTU worked in close cooperation with the

Baath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...

and worked to strengthen the influence of the party in the workplaces. At the time there were committees affiliated to GFTU at privately owned workplaces and workplaces with joint private-public ownership. GFTU did not operate in public enterprises or within the state administration. In January 2004, transitional prime minister Ayad Allawi's government passed a decree naming the

the only recognize union federation in Iraq.

References

* National federations of trade unions Economy of Iraq Society of Iraq Trade unions in Iraq World Federation of Trade Unions International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions Economy of the Arab League Trade unions established in 1959 {{Asia-trade-union-stub