Labour relations in the New Iraq posted by Richard Seymour

So, they used "forced labour" to build the yankee Vatican in Baghdad. Captive workers trafficked from the Philippines were used to bolster Halliburton's profit margins. And they want to lock up leaders of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions for taking strike action. They've turned the army on them. The combined effect of war and sanctions has made junior proletarians of children aged between two and five years old.

For all the shock about the American state and its favoured capitalists - gasp - using slave labour (they've never done that before, have they?), this is not really unexpected. It was known in 2003 that US multinationals were trafficking slave labour to work for them in Iraq. Despite the 'free market' fundamentalism imposed on Iraq, they've never really wanted free labour and even the arse-licking union leaders such as those of the IFTU have had their offices stormed by American troops. And the occupiers aren't exactly known for their care and tending toward children, never mind anyone else.

Labels: iraq, slavery, US imperialism