Oral answer to question provided on Wednesday, 25 October 2006 in the House of Commons, by Tony Blair (Labour), Prime Minister.

Iraq

Answer: My special envoy for human rights in Iraq recently met the Iraqi Minister for civil society and reiterated our full support for the right to form free and fair unions. She also made the same point when she met a group of Iraqi women trade unionists on international women’s day. As my hon. Friend knows—I think that he was present at the launch—there is a TUC pamphlet celebrating the life of Hadi Saleh, the international secretary of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, who was murdered in Iraq, almost certainly by former Saddamists, in January 2005. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend and those in the TUC on campaigning for free and fair trade unions in Iraq. I also congratulate all those who continue to strive for free and trade unions in difficult circumstances today.

This is an answer to the Prime Minister's question asked on Wednesday, 25 October 2006 by David Anderson (Labour).

Question: To ask the Prime Minister, what support the UK Government is giving to develop democratic, independent trade unions in Iraq.

Secondary information