Iraq - CLR

LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Iraq’s overall score is 73.5 out of 100. The overall score for Iraq is higher than the regional average observed across the Middle East and North Africa (61.26). Within the Middle East and North Africa region, the highest score is observed for Morocco (79.5).

Iraq received the worst possible score by default due to reported general prohibition of the right to establish and join organizations and/or collective bargaining in law and in practice (violations no. 23, 36 and/or 62 and 73 in the table below).

Labour Rights Index 2022

73.5/100

LRI Country Score

50/100

Trade Union Indicator

- %

Trade union density rate (%)

- %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

10

SDG indicator 8.8.2

5

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

No

0 §42(1) (k), 48(1) (a) & 82(5) of the Iraq Labour Law 2015; CEACR C87 DR 2021

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

Yes

1 §1(16), 141-155 of the Iraq Labour Law, 2015

No Violation Found

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

Yes

1 §161-164 of the Iraq Labour Law, 2015

No Violation Found

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

No

0 §48 & 52 of the Iraq Labour Law, 2015

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100.

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT.

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT.

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT.

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March. For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link.

To find an ITUC affiliate in your country, please check the LINK:

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)

CEACR C87 DR 2021

The Committee also notes the observations submitted by the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions (GFITU), received on 28 August 2019 and on 20 October 2020, as well as the joint observations of the GFITU; the Conference of Iraq Federations and Workers Unions (CIFWU); the Federation of Independent Trade and Professional Unions in Iraq (FITPUI); the Federation of Workers’ Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI); the General Federation of Trade Unions and Employees of Iraq (GFTUEI); the General Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Iraq (GFTURI); the General Federation of Workers Unions in Iraq (GFWUI); the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU); and the Union of Technical Engineering Professionals (UTEP), received on 17 September 2020. These observations allege that the pre-existing Law No. 52 of 1987 contravenes the Convention and is still in force, and that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs interferes in trade union affairs and only deals with the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) as the official representative union in tripartite bodies (the GFITU refers to a Circular of the Ministry showing its bias towards the official governmental federation and threatening legal measures to those contravening it), thus marginalizing and excluding from social dialogue other trade union federations. The Committee further notes the response received from the Government, stating that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs supports freedom of association and treats equally all unions, and that a Trade Union Organizations for Workers and Employees Bill was drafted by six federations in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and is currently being discussed in the State Council. Recalling that for many years, in its comments under the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Committee has been stressing the need to remove any obstacles to trade union pluralism, the Committee reiterates its previous requests to repeal any legislative imposition of trade union monopoly and encourages the Government to continue to engage with all representative trade union federations, so as to ensure full respect for the guarantees set out in the Convention and, to this end, advance in the finalization and adoption of a Trade Union Organizations for Workers and Employees Act.