Hassan Ibrahim | Ali Darwish | Muwafaq al-Khouja

Professional unions in Syria have begun to sense the beginning of their natural path, having liberated themselves from the grip of the Baath Party after decades of their tasks being marginalized and dominated, undermining their independence, depriving them of democratic practices and transparency, and transforming them from defenders of the rights of their represented groups into supervisory roles and tools in the hands of the authority.

The Baath Party under Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar, who fled two and a half months ago to Russia, shackled the work of the unions. They enacted laws to control them, thwarted any attempts at their independence, turned them into propaganda tools to support their policies, and instruments for pressure and control over various professional segments, stripping the unions of their capacity to influence professional and social decision-making. Instead of being the voice of independents and professionals, they reflected the interests of the ruling party.

Today, the unions are trying to regain their roles with the arrival of a new administration in the country, the interim government of Damascus, after the announcement of the Military Operations Administration, which led the battles to overthrow the regime, dissolving the Baath Party and the parties of the National Progressive Front, along with their affiliated organizations, institutions, and committees, prohibiting their reformation under any other name, and returning all their assets to the Syrian state.

This report sheds light on the attempts of the unions to regain status and role, in a journey that is still in its early stages, enhanced by previous experiences that operated in various control areas in Syria before al-Assad’s fall. It discusses local and international criticisms regarding interventions by the authority in their operations and concerns about their potential re-subjugation, turning them into mere tools in the hands of a new regime.

Enab Baladi discusses with lawyers, experts, researchers, and unionists the legality of the measures taken, and to what extent the experiences of unions that emerged during the Syrian revolution can provide a good foundation for independent unions, it also looks ahead to the future of the labor movement in Syria.

Unions as tools in hands of Baath Party and Assad family

Since the coup led by the Baath Party in 1963, the ninth clause of Legislative Decree No. “68” of the same year stipulated control over all civil movement in Syria, through the supervision of the National Council for the Leadership of the Revolution (March Revolution 1963) over all civil organizations, including unions. This formed a fundamental cornerstone in subjugating civil society to serve the authority.

With the beginning of the 1970s, the Baath Party legalized its absolute control over the state and society through Article Eight of the 1973 Constitution, which states that “the Arab Socialist Baath Party is the leading party in society and the state, and leads a progressive national front that works to unify the energies of the people and put them at the service of the goals of the Arab nation.” As a result, there was an absence of any effective independence for the unions, which became mere formal institutions and tools in the hands of the party and the authority.

The authorities decimated what remained of civil society organizations on April 9, 1980, when Hafez al-Assad dissolved the unions of lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and engineers, arrested their members, and replaced their councils with new councils loyal to the authority and security apparatuses, leading to the hegemony over the remaining organizations and their affiliation with the Baath Party as auxiliary organizations.

The party completely controlled professional unions that included millions of Syrians, making membership mandatory to practice any profession. These unions and federations became arenas for exercising monitoring and control by the authority over wide segments of Syrian society.

In June 2000, Hafez al-Assad passed away, and Bashar came to power, continuing in the same approach as his father regarding unions. With the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the Syrian regime reassessed the roles of popular institutions and integrated them into its networks to contribute to suppressing the movement and controlling society more effectively.

Security forces under the regime issued orders to professional federations and unions to exclude their members who participated in protests, raising security reports against them, leading to their pursuit, dismissal, and deprivation of their financial rights, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR).

Despite the abolition of the previous Syrian regime’s Article Eight of the constitution (which established the Baath Party as the leader of the state and society) with the issuance of the 2012 constitution, the Baath Party continued to exercise the same authorities, privileges, and superior patronage over the state and Syrian society by controlling all institutions that should have been platforms for popular governance, including professional unions.

From a legal perspective, the interventions of the Baath Party and the previous Syrian regime in professional unions constituted a violation of the freedom of union work and an infringement of international and local law.

Two days after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Luc Triangle, stated that the Assad family had subjected the Syrian people to brutal oppression for more than five decades, depriving workers of their basic rights. He added that the Union is closely monitoring developments in the country, considering the fall of this oppressive regime a critical opportunity to transition from decades of oppression to a future based on justice and democracy.

Union work

Labor unions: They consist of workers from the working class, often referred to as “blue-collar workers.” Their work is typically manual and does not necessarily require educational qualifications.

A labor union adheres to labor law as an institution and is considered a legal entity under private law, meaning it is governed by labor law like individuals. Membership is not mandatory, which means that joining the union is not a prerequisite for practicing work. Moreover, an increase in the number of members in labor unions bestows them with community strength, enabling them to perform their work more effectively.

Professional unions: They include individuals who practice the same profession, known as “white-collar workers,” such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, and teachers. Their members possess higher educational qualifications than labor unions and may have more specialized knowledge or more complex levels of skill training.

Professional unions aim to provide privileges and services to their members and are established under a specific law. They enjoy independent legal personality and are considered public law entities, meaning they are one of the public institutions in the state. They have complete independence and their own authority, while their membership is contingent upon obtaining the profession and is mandatory.

Parallel relationship between unions and authority

Researcher Nisreen Jalabi believes that the relationship between unions and authority in its natural state is a parallel one, where unions are civil institutions that operate alongside government institutions in matters related to public affairs within the state.

The researcher told Enab Baladi that unions in their natural state are subject to constitutional laws rather than legislation issued by the legislative authority. Thus, unions are considered independent legal entities, enjoying legal personality and a professional framework, alongside civil movements that distinguish them from the authority.

Professional unions are governed by public law in the state, granting them autonomy and the ability to form influential pressure groups on the ruling authority through their societal interaction. Accordingly, unions constitute an essential part of the democratic process in any country, according to the researcher.

Government interference and directives to unions

What does the law say?

The interim government in Damascus issued consecutive decisions to dissolve most unions, appointing new heads and councils, some of which came from surrogate unions that operated in northern Syria, like the Free Lawyers Syndicate or the Free Engineers Syndicate, taking over and starting their work.

Decisions were issued to appoint individuals, some under the title of temporary councils, either directly from the Prime Minister’s office, such as dissolving the Syrian Journalists Union and appointing a temporary committee to restructure it, or from ministries, such as the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, which formed a council to run the affairs of the engineers and contractors unions until their general conference convenes.

Some unions changed their personnel from the top of the union body without an official decision, with most transferring from the unions operating in northwestern Syria, then assuming the central union in Damascus, most notably the Lawyers Union.

In some unions, the head has resigned, and a member has taken over, remaining in charge until now, such as the Teachers Union, while the least number of unions saw no change.

In the Artists Union, artists announced the Ministry of Culture’s approval to form a committee to run the Artists Union instead of its current members, including artists Mona Wassef, Abbas al-Nouri, Samar Sami, Shadi Jamil, Mohammad Haddaqi, Zuhair Ahmad Qanou, Salah Ta’ama, and Nazir Mawas, until general elections are held.

The union changes coincided with decisions to reinstate those who were politically dismissed to their unions in most Syrian unions.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) called for a comprehensive transition to democracy in Syria, stating that the transformation in Syria must include the establishment of a free, democratic, and independent trade union movement capable of defending workers’ rights and freedoms.

 

The global trade union movement urges governments and companies to support democratic reforms in Syria and respect its sovereignty. By empowering workers and promoting inclusive governance, Syria can embark on a path towards stability and prosperity. The ITUC is ready to assist the Syrian people in building peace, reconstruction, and establishing democratic institutions.

Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the ITUC

 

“Violation of international agreements”

As for the Journalists Union, which is the representative union for the press sector in Syria, it was directly dissolved by the Prime Minister’s office, which appointed journalists, most of whom had been working in northern Syria as independents or in various media outlets, entrusting them with the responsibilities of the executive office and the unions’ council.

After the Prime Minister dissolved the union, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) sent a letter to the transitional Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the Prime Minister of the interim Damascus government, Mohammed al-Bashir, demanding them to “retract the dissolution of the Journalists Union.”

The IFJ considered that the government’s dissolution decision was “political interference in the affairs of union organizations and a violation of the agreements and treaties ratified by Syria, including the International Labor Organization agreements.”

In response, the Syrian Union sent an official letter to the International Federation of Journalists regarding their statement, clarifying points related to the legitimacy of the current committee and its legal capacity and work framework, as stated by Mahmoud al-Shahoud, the head of the (government-appointed) Syrian Journalists Union.

The Syrian Journalists Union responded to its international counterpart that the previous management of the Syrian Union was considered dissolved even before the Prime Minister’s decision, due to its affiliation with the Baath Party, al-Shahoud explained.

Al-Shahoud indicated that the Union will open channels of communication with all Arab and international journalistic unions and federations, and the appointed committee will call for a general conference during which free elections will be held to produce a board of directors and an executive office.

He linked the call for the conference to amending the union’s internal regulations and opening membership to include all Syrian journalists throughout Syrian geography.

The committee also agreed on a working timeline that currently spans six months, extendable based on the ability to finalize all files, according to what al-Shahoud mentioned.

Tayseer Khayata, one of those familiar with the establishment of the proposed Pharmacists Union, explained to Enab Baladi that the political affairs department in the interim Damascus government had directed members of “free” surrogate unions to take over the central union.

Khayata mentioned that the appointees will choose a head among themselves and that elections will take place later, without specifying a timeline, and no official decision has been published on the official channels up to the time of writing.

According to what Enab Baladi has observed, the procedure followed by the Political Affairs Office has been to dissolve unions and appoint people from surrogate unions that were active in northwestern Syria before the fall of the Assad regime, a practice followed in most Syrian unions, without any announcement on official media outlets.

Legal reference

The change in trade unions and the removal of their cadres who were loyal to the old regime and the Baath Party received positive reactions from the Syrian street, particularly from unionists. However, it faced criticism regarding the legality of the dissolution and the appointment of new cadres without holding internal elections, which was considered an interference in trade union work.

Enab Baladi sent questions to several entities in the interim government of Damascus, primarily to the Prime Minister’s office, about the mechanism for dissolving the union and the legal basis for it, but it did not receive a response by the time this report was published.

Lawyer Aref al-Shaal stated to Enab Baladi that the decision to dissolve the Union of Journalists, issued by the Council of Ministers, is correct according to the Syrian law followed under the previous regime; however, it lacked clarification on the reason for the dissolution, as the ministry did not specify it according to legal norms.

Regarding other unions, al-Shaal explained that the dissolution decision should also be issued by the Prime Minister’s office according to the laws prevailing in the old regime, and the dissolution that occurred for the branch unions within the Bar Association was legally improper.

The Bar Association was the first union to be dissolved by a directive from the executive authority. The Free Lawyers Union, which operated in Idlib prior to the regime’s collapse, took over its center. Subsequently, the central bar association dissolved the branch unions across all provinces and formed replacements.

Lawyer Dr. Abdul Rahman Alaf clarified that the central union has the right to dissolve branch unions if any legal violations occur through the elections of the general assembly or any other procedures.

According to Alaf, the central union acted to dissolve the branch unions, considering them elected illegally and improperly through fraudulent processes under the previous regime, particularly concerning party affiliations and vote-buying.

When the previous regime fell, the new central union took control of the unions and issued a decision to dissolve the branch unions, as stated by Alaf.

 

According to Syrian law, the Prime Minister has the authority to appoint temporary unions until meetings for the general assembly of the center and branches can be organized, enabling them to conduct real and democratic elections.

Abdul Rahman Alaf, Syrian lawyer

 

“Revolutionary legitimacy”… Oversight to ensure real elections

Lawyer Aref al-Shaal believes that although the dissolution of most unions, which should be issued by the Prime Minister, is not legal, it stems from an “effective/revolutionary” legitimacy under the terminology of Syrian legal jurisprudence.

Al-Shaal stated that with the fall of the regime, the constitution falls, and consequently, the laws that are not compatible with the new ruling regime brought about by the revolution also fall.

The legal expert pointed out that the prevailing councils in the Bar Association were “bad and exploitative” overall, and were security arms of the Baath Party.

He added that the union councils formed during the previous regime were also not legal, as they were appointed by the Baath Party and violated the law by using forged papers during the elections.

Syrian academic Dr. Ahmad al-Hussein told Enab Baladi that the unions and federations during the era of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez did not represent the voices of the people in them, but rather expressed the authority’s decisions and specific benefits for certain segments of members within those unions.

Al-Hussein added that unionists and federations often felt a vast discrepancy between what they wanted and what the leadership of these unions decided.

He believes that dissolving or suspending their work as a first stage would be a sound step to relieve these unions of what he termed “the miserable legacy,” as they are not conducive to reform.

Among the solutions he sees for the current situation in Syria is the appointment of temporary leadership by the government, supervised in a way that ensures the existence of genuine elections that produce suitable leadership for those unions that express the voices of their members.

Unions of the North… A cornerstone

During the Syrian revolution, several unions and bodies emerged outside the control of the Assad regime, attempting to advocate for the rights of the groups they represent. They faced numerous obstacles due to the existence of de facto authorities and the spread of weapons, yet they established models and a nucleus for trade union work.

The General Command in Syria, after the fall of the Assad regime, relied on the ministers of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) that was operational in Idlib to manage the central ministerial portfolios, appointing Mohammed al-Bashir as the head of the interim government in Damascus.

The same scenario is being reenacted regarding unions, as observed by Enab Baladi, though the names managing the central unions have not yet been finalized, nor has there been a clear resolution on how to oversee their administration, bearing in mind that they should be elected and that the government should not intervene in their work.

In regions previously controlled by the opposition in northwestern Syria, unions were divided between the areas of control after the formation of the Salvation Government in 2017, which administrated Idlib and other areas of northwestern Syria. For instance, there became a union for lawyers in areas under the influence of the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) in the rural areas of Aleppo, and another in the areas under the influence of the Syrian Salvation Government (SIG) in Idlib.

Enab Baladi contacted five unions that were previously active in northwestern Syria, all of which confirmed the lack of clarity regarding their future, yet they asserted that they are working in coordination with the government and the central unions to reach a new structure.

Rafi al-Rahmoun, head of the Idlib branch of the Teachers’ Union that previously operated in areas of influence of the Salvation Government, stated to Enab Baladi that the union had an executive and a popular office, along with branches divided according to administrative distributions.

After the fall of the regime, the founding body of the union went to Damascus and met with the Minister of Education in the interim government in Damascus, authorizing the founding body to oversee the work of the central union.

According to al-Rahmoun, the founding body was divided into committees and distributed across provinces to study the reality in the branches and submit their reports, noting the existence of corruption and disorderly conduct in the branches of the unions and the central union operating in the areas previously controlled by the Assad regime.

The Idlib union held a meeting with representatives of the union members, and elections were conducted to fill in the gaps in the Idlib branch, as there were some vacancies among the members, and now the branch is in the process of starting up, according to al-Rahmoun.

Youssef Faisal Kabso, a member of the Economists’ Union in rural Aleppo, stated to Enab Baladi that the union is operational and discussions are ongoing with other unions for a new structure that includes everyone.

Lawyer Ahmad Maznook, a member of the Free Lawyers Syndicate in Aleppo previously, mentioned that the lawyers in the union, numbering 800, expressed their readiness to manage the Aleppo branch, continue trade union work, and support what serves the public interest and achieves justice, noting that they have a complete and organized headquarters in the city of Azaz in northern Aleppo.

The foundational lines for building the unions, according to lawyer Maznook, depend on the lawyers working on the ground and their colleagues in exile, who bear the responsibility for achieving justice and the rule of law, improving the living conditions of lawyers, and preparing and training young lawyers to continue the work of their mentors.

The situation is similar in the teachers’ union in rural Aleppo, as union head Muhammad Sabah Hamidi clarified that the union continues its activities through its internal meetings and by meeting with the Aleppo Education Directorate, as well as representatives from the interim administration, in addition to executing training sessions and workshops for the teachers.

Hamidi told Enab Baladi that there is communication with the previous Aleppo Teachers’ Union and the Idlib union, but no physical meeting has occurred with other unions to outline the reconstruction of the union due to the freeze on the central union’s work in Damascus.

After the fall of the regime, the central union administrations halted their operations, and their members withdrew from the scene, prompting the government to appoint individuals to manage these unions temporarily, as was the case with the Teachers’ Union, which received criticism regarding the legitimacy of this measure.

Khaled al-Khaled, head of the founding body of the Teachers’ Union, told Enab Baladi that the union is still in the process of reconsideration.

Enab Baladi posed questions to al-Khaled regarding the mechanism for managing the union and restructuring it through elections, as well as how he was appointed to manage the affairs of the central union, and is still awaiting a response.

Lawyer Ahmad Maznook stated that the Free Lawyers of Aleppo union contacted the temporarily appointed central union for the management of the lawyers’ affairs, as the current phase requires a temporary council, given that there is no room for elections that the lawyers’ union is known for.

A tense relationship with authority

In recent years, the relationship between unions and the Salvation Government has not been at its best, as the government sought to promote the establishment of unions but intervened in their work.

The Salvation Government prevented the formation of a general union of unions and public associations in northern Syria in June 2020, after 12 unions in Idlib and Aleppo called for a meeting to establish a federation comprising all the unions in the region.

As a result of the increasing pressures from the Salvation Government, the Board of the Engineers Union in Idlib resigned in October 2020.

The policy of pressure on unions was followed by a policy of encouragement for their formation by the Salvation Government.

According to an analysis published by the Jusoor For Studies Center in 2022, the competencies in areas controlled by the Salvation Government were driven by several factors to cluster into independent unions and bodies similar to the Free Lawyers Union.

Conversely, the Salvation Government hastened to issue official decisions to form unions and civil bodies, imposing necessary changes on independent unions, such as appointing specific individuals.

The interest of the Salvation Government in unions, according to the Jusoor Center analysis, is attributed to the fact that it represents an opportunity to complete and reinforce its control over the region from a civilian perspective, thus enhancing its legitimacy and allowing it to benefit from any grants or projects that those unions or bodies may execute.

The Salvation Government faced difficulties in dealing with individual and collective objections to its decisions, so it attempted to integrate those dissenters into civil institutions bound by internal regulations of its own formulation and led by affiliated figures, complicating the efforts of civilian opposition movements and facilitating the management of the region, according to Jusoor Center.

Union members confronted the Salvation Government with repeated protests, during which they presented their demands.

In June 2023, engineers organized a protest in front of the Free Syrian Engineers Union building in Idlib, opposing a decision by the Salvation Government to withdraw certain responsibilities from the union and transfer them to a newly established directorate.

Engineer Ali Ghabsha, founder of the Engineers Union branch in Idlib, told Enab Baladi at the time that decision 307 clearly contradicts the Trade Unions Law issued by the Council of Shura, which requires unions to regularize their legal status within a specified timeframe and prohibits any entity from exercising union activities.

“Experiences that can be beneficial but are not enough”

Researcher Nisreen Jalabi believes that benefiting from union experiences is not limited to the period after the revolution, but should also consider the union experience in Syria throughout its history, analyzing the violations committed by the authority that have led to stripping union work of its substance and preventing its effective participation in public affairs.

The researcher stated to Enab Baladi that the post-revolution union experience has not been easy in terms of legal regulations and the parameters of work, as well as the responsibilities that unions bear toward their members and society at large. The challenges posed by the situation in “liberated areas” were significant, such as the absence of regulatory laws for union work in those regions, in addition to oscillation among different governments and de facto authorities.

For example, the unions formed in the areas under the control of the Syrian National Army (SNA) affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government were supposed to be subject to the Law of Union Organization stipulated in the Charter of the Syrian Revolution, issued by the Syrian National Coalition, while in areas controlled by the Salvation Government, the unions were meant to be governed by a different union organization law.

Nevertheless, there is potential to benefit from these union experiences that were established amidst conflict, which have worked on restoring themselves, thus gaining a high level of expertise and flexibility, according to the researcher.

Jalabi believes that these unions will undoubtedly play an essential role in future union formations across Syria, as these unions enjoyed independence in their operations and represented a democratic experience in their internal structure.

She asserted that this experience is beneficial from institutional and foundational perspectives, although the union formations subject to established laws may impact state matters.

What is desired and what is needed?

Syrian academic Dr. Ahmad al-Hussein hopes that unions in the current period will be “demand-oriented” unions that express the needs of their members, contribute to rebuilding the country, participate in seminars and discussions, and set an example of democratic work in Syria, rather than serving as a tool in the hands of the authority, as he put it.

He also hopes they will contribute to voluntary work, such as providing free consultations.

Researcher Nisreen Jalabi believes that Syria currently needs to restore its institutions at all levels, including unions, and faces significant challenges in trade union work, as it is not feasible to reactivate the unions that previously operated under the past regime since it is a bad experiment on all levels.

She indicated that it is not possible to rely on applying the trade union experience in “liberated areas” to all of Syria. Thus, the existence of temporary bodies is crucial for institutionally, legally, and civilly restoring unions.

To ensure transparent and impactful union work in the future, these temporary bodies should study the existing challenges, analyze the union reality systematically, utilize previous laws and official data, and identify available opportunities for advancing this process, according to the researcher.

Jalabi believes that the foundation for having genuine union institutions relies on focusing on essential criteria, the most important of which are:

• Ensuring member inclusion.
• Achieving democracy within each union and the federation.
• Framing the relationship between unions and the authorities and governmental institutions.
• Ensuring union independence through constitutional laws that protect them from political interference in union work.