European unions condemn war

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has condemned the war in Iraq as illegitimate and has called on its national unions to respond to the outbreak of war with action.

Meeting the day war broke out, the steering committee of the ETUC, which includes representatives of all the major affiliates including the TUC, reaffirmed its opposition to "this US, UK and Spanish led war which lacks international legitimacy". It stated that war could have been averted if the inspectors had not "been prevented from completing their task".

The ETUC called on all its affiliated organisations to "react to the outbreak of war by all means within their possibilities, including work stoppages, strikes and demonstrations starting from tomorrow and continuing in the coming days". It also urged them to join in other "mass mobilisations to regain peace".

The ETUC, where the current TUC general secretary, John Monks, is set to take over as general secretary at the end of May, also promised that it "stands ready to take further action for the promotion of peace, the rule of law and human rights".

* Five French union confederations, including all the largest, have issued a joint appeal for action against racism and xenophobia. It draws attention to the increased danger of racism at the time of the war in Iraq and following the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.