Cablegate: Iraqi Women Journalists: Labor Issues, Not Security,

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PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3423/01 2560651
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130651Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6874
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0523
INFO RHEHWSR/WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003423

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KWMN IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI WOMEN JOURNALISTS: LABOR ISSUES, NOT SECURITY,
PRESENT CHALLENGE

1.(U) SUMMARY: A group of Iraqi female journalists told Emboffs that
their biggest professional concerns were unfair labor practices,
lack of accountability within corporate management, and a patronage
system that disregards performance. They called for laws to protect
workers' rights, and clear and transparent court procedures to help
guarantee those rights. END SUMMARY.

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Unfair Labor Practices Dominate List of Concerns
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2.(U) On August 26, Emboffs hosted a discussion with 13 Iraqi women
journalists from Al Hurra TV, Attakhy newspaper, Aswat al-Iraq News
Agency, BBC Arabic radio, IMN radio, Al-Iraqiya TV, Radio Sawa,
Azzawra newspaper, Radio Nawa, Baghdad TV and Free Iraq Radio.

3. (U) The women briefly discussed freedom of speech issues, noting
that constitutional guarantees must be enforced to protect their
freedoms. Interestingly, the women did not fault the Iraqi
government for suppressing their freedom of expression, but instead
faulted their stations' corporate management. One correspondent
from Al-Iraqiya lamented that management at her station interfered
in her work on a daily basis and that the directors "treated (her)
like a slave." This led to a lengthy discussion on the issue of
workplace rights, with all the woman agreeing that unfair labor
practices were prevalent within their organizations.

4. (U) As an example, the correspondent from IMN radio described a
warning she had received from her supervisor after applying for
vacation time. Few, if any, of the women had taken leave in the
past two years, either out of fear of losing their jobs or because
their leave had been denied. While this correspondent mentioned
that her male colleague had been allowed to take a vacation, she
noted that he was a friend of her supervisor's and that generally
the problem cut across gender lines. Another correspondent admitted
that she was working without a contract and therefore had no formal
guarantee of her rights. A third complained that her boss treated
her with disrespect and threatened to terminate her employment
because of her personal relationships with certain Iraqi officials;
others agreed that relationships and affiliations outside of the
office often caused trouble inside the office. All of the women
said that they felt pressure to adhere to company practices, whether
legal or not, in order to keep their jobs, and that the indirect
threat of arbitrary termination was always present.

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Courts Provide No Remedy
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5. (U) In the few cases where labor related lawsuits have gone
forward, the women said that justice has not been done because
judges are corrupt. The correspondent from Radio Nawa said that she
had sued her former employer for an unfair dismissal, however, she
claimed she lost the case because the employer bribed the judge.
Another woman from Al-Iraqiya agreed, saying that proper procedures
are not followed and that there is no transparency in the court
system. Both said that the laws and courts protected employers, and
employers were not accountable to anyone but themselves and/or their
political parties.

--------------------------------------------- ----
Qualifications Overshadowed by Patronage System
--------------------------------------------- ----

6. (U) All of the women at the event were well-educated, experienced
journalists. Many of them had worked in the field for ten or more
years. They angrily recounted stories of people being hired in
their organizations based on personal friendships, family
relationships and even physical attractiveness. One woman fumed
that there was no value to qualifications, and that "women are
analyzed according to the services they offer to the director!"
They lamented the corruption within their organizations, noting that
"international standards are clearly absent in Iraq."

--------------------------------------------- -
"The Employment Culture in Iraq Must Change"
--------------------------------------------- -

7. (U) The women all agreed that stronger labor laws were needed to
protect workers. They said that both employer and employee rights
and responsibilities should be clearly spelled out in employment
contracts. They also agreed that equal opportunity principles
should be incorporated into the law. Courts must follow regulated,
transparent procedures, and corruption in the justice system must be
stamped out, they added. As one participant summarized, rule of law
must be respected, and "the employment culture in Iraq must
change."

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BAGHDAD 00003423 002 OF 002

Comment
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8. (U) The women were clearly excited about the meeting, with one
commenting that "even my own government doesn't listen to me!" The
level of complaints was not surprising, however, the nature of the
complaints was. Poloff asked the women what was the primary
impediment to their work. Rather than discussing the alarming
number of targeted assassinations against journalists this year, or
the harassment and detention of journalists in Kurdistan, the women
immediately seized on labor issues. Security concerns only came up
twice in the meeting, both times as a secondary issue that was
quickly dismissed. One woman summed up her attitude, saying that
she accepted the risk and could sacrifice her life for Iraq.
However, if she was going to risk so much for her work, then the
working conditions had to at least be tolerable. Poloff shared the
concerns raised by the women with NDI, which agreed to prioritize
assistance for the COR Committee on Labor and Services.

9. (U) Poloff agreed to discuss their concerns with parliamentarians
and other Iraqi officials. The women were pleased with the session,
and requested similar meetings on a monthly basis to share insights
and concerns.

SPECKHARD

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