No reports of an organization called the Trade Union of the Workers of Afghanistan under the Najibullah regime (1987-April 1992) could be found among the sources consulted. However, the following information may be helpful.

According to the 1992 edition of Encyclopedia of the Third World:

The vast majority of Afghans are farmers and herders. The industrial labor force is small, and skilled factory labor is almost nonexistent. ... Strikes are unheard of, and industrial relations are governed by traditional paternalistic values. There is no official machinery for the settlement of industrial disputes, and there are no labor unions.(1992, 10).

Other sources, however, indicate that in the late 1980s and early 1990s there were a number of union-type organizations in Afghanistan (Trade Unions of the World 1992-93 1991, 3; Europa 1992 1992, 302-03), although many of these tended to be trade-, sector- or region-specific (ibid.). The largest union umbrella-type organization appears to have been the Central Council of Afghan Trade Unions (CCATU), which was established by the new People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government shortly after the 1978 revolution (ibid., 302; Trade Unions of the World 1992-93 1991, 3; Country Reports 1988 1989, 1275). Although formally a non-party organization, according to Trade Unions of the World 1992-93 the CCATU was "closely identified with the ruling PDPA, and its role [was] substantially to implement party policies" (1991, 4; Country Reports 1988 1989, 1275). In 1990 the CCATU reportedly changed its name to the National Union of Afghanistan Employees (NUAE) (Europa 1992 1992, 302).

For more information on the CCATU, including its leadership, structure, history and policies, and for general information on the structure of trade unionism under the PDPA, please consult Trade Unions of the World 1992-93, available in the Regional Documentation centres.

In a 13 October 1999 telephone interview the former director of the Afghanistan Information Centre, who has published widely on Afghanistan and acted as a consultant on Afghanistan for various media organizations and western governments, stated that although she has never heard of an organization called Trade Union of the Workers of Afghanistan, such an organization could have existed. She stated that under the communist government numerous front organizations were set up for workers, teachers, farmers and other groups. She also stated these were not independent organizations but existed to legitimize communist rule, and likely were "peppered with" communist party cadres and possibly police operatives.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988. 1989. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Encyclopedia of the Third World. 1992. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Edited by George Thomas Kurian. New York: Facts on File.

Former Director, Afghanistan Information Centre, New York. 13 October 1999. Telephone interview.

The Europa World Year Book 1992. 1992. 33rd ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications.

Trade Unions of the World 1992-1993. 1991. 3rd ed. Revised and updated by Martin Upham. London: Longman Group UK.

1989 Yearbook on International Communist Affairs. 1989

Afghanistan: A Country Study. 1986

Political Handbook of the World 1991. 1991

Political Parties of the World. 1988

UK Home Office Country Assessment: Afghanistan. March 1999.

World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties. 1987

Electronic sources: IRB databases; LEXIS/NEXIS; WNC; Internet sites, including: Afghan Daily News; Afghan Media; Afghan News; Afghan Online Press; Afghanistan News Service; International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU); Political Parties, Interest Groups and Other Social Movements.

One oral source contacted.