Ports unions in the Arab world took steps to intensify their cooperation with each other at a seminar held by the ITF in Tunis, Tunisia late last year. The first such event for Arab-speaking port unions, the seminar was one of a series of industry-specific activities forging links between Arab transport unions.

A number of international issues have prompted these unions to seek closer ties to the international trade union movement.

The impact of globalisation has been similar in this region to that in other parts of the world, with increased privatisation, competition, deregulation and so on. In particular, increasing economic ties between the Arab Mediterranean countries and the European Union have enhanced the need to exchange experiences with trade unions within the EU.

Yet the particular political and social issues that arise from the Middle East conflict and the “War on Terrorism” have left Arab countries feeling isolated. Existing trade unions feel they could benefit from cooperating with the global unions as they struggle to deal not only with economic but also major political and legal issues in the region. Trade union activity is severely restricted in many Gulf States, and entirely prohibited in others.

Nine ports unions from eight countries attended the seminar, including longstanding ITF affiliates from Morocco and Egypt, recently affiliated unions from Algeria and Tunisia, and unions interested in ITF affiliation from Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Sudan.

Port reform is taking place in all Arab countries, at various rates and in different ways. Some unions, for example in Tunisia, have been able to formulate and implement a clear union strategy, which enabled them to get involved in the reform and modernisation process of the port industry. In other countries global terminal operators have well-established operations, for example in Yemen, and the unions have had difficulties in participating in the reform process.

Impetus for change
Unions attending the seminar expressed excitement at the prospect of closer cooperation among themselves and of playing a bigger part in the international trade union movement.

However, the unions understood that integration into the ITF requires considerable commitment. In order to benefit fully from their affiliation, unions need to develop their capacities to participate actively in campaigns and solidarity action. The ITF in turn will need to provide more material and information in Arabic and hopes to develop a stronger presence in the region.

Previous initiatives to bring unions in the Arab world closer together have not met with great success. However there is now a broadbased and mounting impetus, with many stakeholders getting involved. At the end of 2001 the German political foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) invited all global union federations and the ICFTU to a strategy meeting in Algiers to discuss the issue. Since then the FES has supported a regional meeting of transport unions in Amman in 2002 as well as the ports seminar in 2003.

With the support of the Transport Federation of Algeria a civil aviation seminar was organised in Algiers in 2002. In September 2003 the Chairman of the Air Transport and Tourism union in Jordan, Bilal Malkawi, was appointed as the General Secretary’s personal representative for the Arab-speaking countries, on a voluntary basis. One of his main tasks will be the preparation of a bigger regional meeting in 2004.