Iraq - Unionist transfered and threatened (2010)

On 16 April, Naji Zyara Nasir, an employee and union activist at the Southern Gas Company in Basra, was subjected to insults and a physical attack by security guards. Three days later he received a memo, signed by the Deputy Minister of Oil (MOL), transferring him to the Al Dora refinery in Baghdad, where he will be at risk of assassination and other physical dangers. According to the Iraqi federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), there is an increasing trend for oil companies to target and threaten union activists with transferral to unsafe areas or those with different tribal affiliations. The IFOU is currently investigating a similar case at the Southern Gas Company for investment by SHELL.