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Sudan: Information on the union representing workers at Sudan Airways currently and during the 1980s

According to an editor with the newspaper Sudan Update in London, the Sudan Airways Employees Union represented workers of the national airline, before 1989 (3 Mar. 1995). However, the source could not provide additional information on whether or not the union represented all employees. The editor indicated in a telephone interview that this union must be operating currently, under either the same or a different name. According to the editor, it is likely the union is operating under a new leadership. Also, it is likely these unions and their leaders are pro-government and are approved by the National Islamic Front (NIF), which is the religious and ideological backbone of the government (ibid.). The source stated that Sudan Airways has recently been privatized, although the airline still maintains close ties with the government (ibid.).

The editor explained that with the overthrow of the Numeiry regime in 1989, and the ideological tilt of the new government towards Islamic fundamentalism, the Sudanese trade unions, which were created during the Numeiry regime, were banned. The old unions were replaced with new labour unions that are instruments of government propaganda (ibid.). These unions and their leaders were approved and monitored by the NIF (ibid.). According to the source, non-conforming unionists have been forced into exile or are constantly harassed by the NIF.

During a telephone interview with the secretary general of the Sudan Human Rights Organization in London, he provided the following information (3 Mar. 1995). Before the overthrow of the Numeiry regime, Sudan Airways employees were represented by three unions. They included the unions for blue and white collar employees, and the union for pilots. The Sudan Airways Employees Union represented white collar employees. However, the source was unable to indicate the names of the other two unions.

The secretary general stated that in 1992 the government promulgated a new trades union act that changed the nature and operations of the trades union movement in the Sudan. All employees in the same establishment were placed in the same union (ibid.). The unions were no longer structured according to functions and positions. Unions and their representatives also became propaganda instruments of the government. Activist union representatives are detained or constantly harassed. According to the secretary general, it is likely that all employees of Sudan Airways currently belong to the same union, but this source could not provide the name of the union (ibid.).

News from Africa Watch states, in its 22 January 1990 report on the Sudan entitled "Political Detainees in Sudan: Trade Unionists," that one Mohammed Osman Al-Khidir of the Sudan Airways Employees Union was detained without charge and held at the Suakin prison (1). This source does not provide any details on the Sudan Airways Employees Union.

For general information on Sudanese trade unions, and on trade unions and their relationship with the Sudanese government, please refer to the attachments. Also, please refer to page 2775 of The Europa World Year Book 1994, and to page 285 of Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. These documents are currently available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Editor with the newspaper Sudan Update, London. 3 March 1995. Telephone interview.

News from Africa Watch [New York]. 22 January 1990. "Political Detainees in Sudan: Trade Unionists."

Sudan Human Rights Organization, London. 3 March 1995. Telephone interview with secretary general.

Attachments

News from Africa Watch [New York]. 22 January 1990. "Political Detainees in Sudan: Trade Unionists," pp. 1-6.

Trade Unions of the World 1992-93. 1991. 3rd ed. Revised and Updated by Martin Upham. London: Longman Group UK, pp. 426-27.

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Resource Information Centre. February 1993. Profile Series: Sudan: Human Rights Since the 1989 Coup. Washington, DC: INS Information Centre, pp. 18-19, 27-28.