April 25, 2006
Law Violated, But Pentagon Offers No Names
From: DAVID PHINNEY [mailto:david.phinney@verizon.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 12:41 AM
To: Mace Brian A LtCol MNF-I Deputy IG
Subject:
Brian,
I am a reporter for CorpWatch and contributor to BBC. As you may recall, I began researching labor conditions and allegations of trafficking last July. I was then told the issues I raised were under investigation. (SEE BELOW)
I need background on the new FRAG order for trafficking in persons MNF-1 FRAGO 06-188. (FILE ATTACHED)
It states that an inspection of contracting activities supporting DOD in Iraq revealed evidence of illegal confiscation of worker passports, deceptive hiring practices and excessive recruiting fees. Additionally, it found substandard worker living conditions at some sites and circumvention of Iraqi immigration procedures.
What contractors were found to be involved in these activities, under what contracts and what, if any, corrective and punitive measure were taken against these companies?
Additionally, where can I get a report on the findings of the mentioned inspection?
Thanks,
DAVID PHINNEY
-----------------------------
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Mr. Phinney,
SGT Anderson is now working a different shift. I searched our database and found his original response to you (pasted below).
TSgt. Diamond
CPIC Press Desk
-------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Phinney,
This is all we will say about the trafficking incident.
During an inspection by the MNF-I Inspector General (IG) that was completed in late March, evidence indicated a wide spread practice of holding and withholding employee passports to prevent employees “jumping” to other employers. It is the position of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) that this practice violates the law under Title 18 U.S. Code.
The rights to freedom of movement and quality living standards are serious issues; MNF-I takes a zero tolerance approach to any violation and incorporates contract language that prohibits contractors and subcontractors at all tiers from utilizing unlicensed recruiting firms, or firms that charge illegal recruiting fees, and includes appropriate penalties for non-compliance.
All Department of Defense military and civilian personnel and Department of Defense contractors must receive the mandatory Trafficking in Persons (TIP) awareness training prior to deployment or after arrival in the Command. Our leaders understand the dynamics and indicators of trafficking and are vigilant in correcting or reporting suspected violations or activities.
MNF-I employs a three-pronged approach to deter and combat human trafficking by DoD personnel or contractors in Iraq -- education and awareness; policy and enforcement; and inspection.
-- Education and Awareness. All DoD personnel and DoD contractors must receive mandatory TIP awareness training prior to deployment or after arrival in the Command.
--Policy and Enforcement. All contracts incorporate appropriate language to compel the protection of individual rights (at both contract and subcontract levels); to promote rule of law in Iraq and in the labor recruiting process, and to provide a mechanism to enforce contract compliance.
-- Inspection. Leaders must be vigilant in correcting or reporting suspected violations or activities.
Contractors and subcontractors at all tiers are required to comply with international laws regarding transit/exit/entry procedures, and the requirements for work visas, and incorporate contractual provisions for addressing non-compliance. Contractors will follow all host Country entry and exit requirements.
Our contracts will have measurable, enforceable standards for living conditions (e.g., sanitation, health, safety, etc.), and establish 50 feet as the minimum acceptable square footage of personal living space per worker.
MNF-I will incorporate contract language that requires contractors and sub-contractors at all tiers to provide workers with a signed copy of their employment contract that defines the terms of their employment / compensation (e.g., salary, currency, work hours, overtime, vacation, etc.).
Our contracts will have measurable, enforceable standards for living conditions (e.g., sanitation, health, safety, etc.), and establish 50 feet as the minimum acceptable square footage of personal living space per worker. Language should include a provision to allow contracting officers to grant a waiver in cases where the existing square footage is within 20% of the minimum and the overall conditions are determined to be acceptable.
We have directed contractors and subcontractors at all tiers to return worker passports in compliance with reference (b) no later than 01 May 2006, and incorporate specific contract language to restrict the duration of time that travel documents may be controlled by employers for administrative processing, to preserve the intent of Title 18 USC.
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
If this e-mail is marked FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY it may be exempt from mandatory disclosure under FOIA. DoD 5400.7R, "DoD Freedom of Information Act Program", DoD Directive 5230.9, "Clearance of DoD Information for Public Release", and DoD Instruction 5230.29, "Security and Policy Review of DoD Information for Public Release" apply.
Posted by davidphinney at 05:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Noted by UPi
Documents obtained by David Phinney.
U.S.: Return passports to Iraq workers UPI April 24, 2006 Monday 12:00 PM EST
Copyright 2006 U.P.I.
All Rights Reserved
http://www.upi.com
UPI
April 24, 2006 Monday 12:00 PM EST
LENGTH: 675 words
HEADLINE: U.S.: Return passports to Iraq workers
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, April 24
BODY:
The U.S. military in Iraq has demanded that the passports of all employees of contractors and subcontractors serving the military in Iraq be returned to them by May 1.
It is also insisting that the thousands of civilian workers in Iraq and Afghanistan are given at least 50 square feet of personal living space per person.
"The right of freedom of movement and quality living standards are serious issues; [Multi-National Force Iraq] takes a zero tolerance approach to any violation," states an April 19 memo from the Joint Contracting Command in Baghdad.
An inspection by the Multi-National Forces Iraq inspector general revealed a widespread practice of confiscating employee passports by contractors and subcontractors for the term of employment. It was meant to prevent employees -- most of them "third-country nationals" from low-paying and poorly policed labor markets in Africa and Asia -- from "jumping" to other employers in Iraq and Afghanistan for better pay or living conditions.
Most of the workers are employed under the $13 billion LOGCAP contract awarded to Halliburton subsidiary KBR, which in turn subcontracts out much of the work to other companies.
Because of the size of the LOGCAP contract, KBR has been under pressure to reduce the cost of services to the military, according to industry officials.
"Increasing expenditures in theater ... jeopardize our ability to maintain public support as the costs associated with our operations continue to rise," wrote Gen. George Casey, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, in a memo issued last summer and exclusively reported by UPI.
One of the few areas with flexibility in cost is the labor. Companies competing for KBR subcontracts routinely shop the world for the lowest-paid workers to fill positions at U.S. facilities -- cooking, cleaning and maintaining the physical infrastructure of the bases for 140,000 U.S. service members.
In some cases, workers are paid a pittance by Western standards. UPI reported in December that some food service employees from Sierra Leone were paid less than 50 cents an hour for their year-long contract. The workers were contractually prohibited from discussing the terms of their contract and their pay with outsiders but UPI obtained a copy of the employment contract.
The MNF-I inspection also revealed "deceptive hiring practices and excessive recruiting fees, substandard worker living conditions at some sites; circumvention of Iraqi immigration procedures by contractors/subcontractors, lack of mandatory trafficking in persons awareness training," according to an April "FRAGO" order to the military. Both documents were obtained by David Phinney, a journalist with Corpwatch.
A Sierra Leone worker told UPI he had been promised an American visa by the recruiter if he accepted the job in Iraq. No such arrangements were made.
"All contractors engaging in this practice who have contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan are directed to cease and desist in this practice immediately. All passports are to be returned to employees by May 1," states the April 19 memo.
The MNF-I inspector general will conduct a second round of inspections in the next three months to ensure compliance with the order.
If passports are not returned to employees and adequate living space provided, the U.S. military may terminate or suspend contracts, bar contractors from competing for future work, or give a negative past performance evaluation, which is supposed to diminish the chances of future contracts. The U.S. military can also bar and contractor in violation of the orders from setting foot on a military installation.
The memos state that future contracts with the U.S. military will include provisions allowing the U.S. government to terminate the contract without penalty if there is a violation of these laws. It will also require that all workers be furnished a signed copy of their contracts, and will prohibit unlicensed recruiting firms or recruiting firms that charge an unreasonable recruiting fee to workers from working with the U.S. military in Iraq.
LOAD-DATE: April 25, 2006
Posted by davidphinney at 03:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2006
Pentagon Attacks Labor Trafficking by US Contractors
It has been long in coming. The Pentagon is now demanding that contractors fight labor trafficking and lousy working conditions in Iraq endured by tens of thousands of low-paid south Asians working under US-funded contracts in Iraq.
In an April 19 memorandum to all Pentagon contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Joint Contracting Command demands that the widespread practice of taking away workers passports come to end. Contractors engaging in the practice, states the memo, must immediately "cease and deist."
"All passports will be returned to employees by 1 May 06. This requirement will be flowed down to each of your subcontractors performing work in this theater."
Contractors and subcontractors routinely hold workers passports -- in direct violation of US labor trafficking laws -- to prevent them from changing employers or leave wartorn Iraq.
As many as 35,000 low-paid workers are employed under Halliburton's sweeping, multibillion logistics contract serving the US military. Many of these workers are brought to Iraq by subcontractors from neighboring Arab countries -- countries that have been frequently cited by the US State Department for the exploitation of foreign workers.
A new April 4 contracting directive (I know the PDF is upside down!) also officially confirms the dirty little secret that reporters, military people and contractors have been complaining about ever since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq: Many of the tens of thousands of south Asian workers working under US contracts have been repeatedly exploited by their employers.
The directive notes that inspections of Defense contractors in Iraq has revealed deceptive hiring practices, excessive recruiting fees that indebt workers for months if not years, substandard living conditions that include crammed sleeping quarters and poor food, and the circumventing of Iraqi immigration procedures.
These conditions, endured by south Asian workers sometimes making only dollars a day, are all chronicled in my October story, Blood, Sweat & Tears: Asia's Poor Build U.S. Bases in Iraq.
I originally brought the allegations of trafficking and labor abuse to the Army last July. Those allegations helped set up the chain of investigations that eventually brought on this new order.
Here's the Army's Aug. 5, 2005 email:
David,In response to your correspondence of 29 July 2005 addressing a number of issues involving the use of third country nationals (TCNs) in sub-contracts under our LOGCAP contract. These are serious issues and we are presently investigating the specific incidents you've addressed.
We are concerned about employment conditions for all employees. There are a number of contract clauses outlining health, security, and other life support requirements for sub-contracted entities. You can access the contract at: http://www.afsc.army.mil/gc/files/contract%20san.pdf.
What I find interesting is that the prime contractor is responsible for the oversight, including Halliburton's KBR, which is now well over $15 billion in billings for military support work in Iraq:
The U.S. Government has privity of contract with the prime contractor, in this case KBRS. The specifics of sub-contractor oversight are usually within the purview of the parties involved; the prime and sub-contracted entities.
One Kuwaiti subcontractor under KBR that has been accused of coercing employees to work in Iraq against their will is now the prime contractor tasked with building new $592-million US embassy project in Baghdad.
The April military directive announces that contractors will be required to take part in new education and awareness programs, policy enforcement and inspections by Joint Contracting Command's Inspector General in the coming months for compliance.
Posted by davidphinney at 08:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 22, 2006
Labor Trafficking in Iraq.....
This is an interesting development according to a KBR worker who complained about working conditions of low-paid Asian laborers working under US contracts.
The development follows my series on the working conditions and trafficking of south Asians Blood, Sweat & Tears along with Cam Simpson's series that followed in The Chicago Tribune:
I have some good news to report. Things are shakin', probably as a result of Cam's article and others like his, and perhaps as a result of the survey of 32 Indian workers and related summary I sent up the KBR chain.Two days ago an internal investigative team (one HR supervisor and a Hindi interpreter) came to interview the same 32 laborers. It was all very hush hush, but I confirmed afterward with my guys that the questions had been the same ones I had asked them, about the amount of their agency fees, the interest on their loans, time to repay, etc. Incidentally the Indians were terrified at first, certain that they were about to lose their jobs. They were assured by everyone involved that this was not the case.
The investigation, I'm certain, was to verify the validity of my report.
The other event - coincidentally happening within the same week - was a multi-page document entitled KBR Trafficking in Persons Awareness Training. All personnel are required to read it and familiarize themselves with the rules.
The U.S. has issued a new FRAGO (dont' ask me what that acronym means, but it's the law) Military MNF-I Frago 06-188 [Trafficking in Persons]
3.C.3.A. Direct contractors and subcontractors at all tiers to return worker passports in compliance with Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1589 and 1592, and/or other laws as may be appropriate NLT 01 May 2006.....
3.C.3.D. Incorporate contract language that prohibits contractors and subcontractors at all tiers from utilizing unlicensed recruiting firms, or firms that charge illegal recruiting fees, and includes appropriate penalties for non-compliance.
3.C.3.E. Require contracts to have measurable, enforceable standards for living conditions (e.g., sanitation, health, safety, etc.) and establish 50 feet as the minimum acceptable square footage of personal living space per worker. (they have 23 now)
There are many other provisions, enforcement of compliance, assuring that laborers are given a copy of their contract (which non of my guys were given, to prove they were told they would be given a day off a month)
To me, this is encouraging. It means we've touched a nerve, or created awareness where there was none.
It has eased the misanthropy I have felt for the company I work for, the U.S. Military, but sorry... I still think Bush and his gang are idiots.
Posted by davidphinney at 05:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 19, 2006
Flattering ... I Guess ...
In the past month, I have been contacted twice by BBC, and once each by CBS's "60 Minutes" and Aljazeera International about this story, Blood, Sweat & Tears: Asia's Poor Build U.S. Bases in Iraq.
Others include National Public Radio asking for my sources and advice based on Adding Insult to Injury Halliburton Contractors Denied Insurance Benefits, again by BBC for Iraq Contractor Claims Immunity From Fraud Laws and once by Aljazeera International for sources on Scandals Confront Military Security Industry.
There was also The Wall Street Journal inquiring for sources about Baghdad Embassy Bonanza, but I think the reporter dropped the ball. It's a difficult story when the US State Department refuses to cooperate. As one State spokesman remarked, "We're getting a lot of inquiries now, and we have no more comment." Besides, members of Congress are now quietly asking the questions.
Add this to the list of other stories the well-paid journalists picked off: Halliburton Wins New $4.9Billion Iraq Contract by The Washington Post, and Marines Jail Contractors in Iraq by The Los Angeles Times.
I am sure the producers and reporters would share the credit or monetary reward with me -- if they only could. NOT.
And, of course, let's not forget the C-130J pricing story for Defense News that left the editors slack jawed. After sitting on the story for months hoping it I would go away and forget about it, it was finally published and sparked congressional hearings that kicked Lockheed Martin in the crotch of its overpriced trash hauler (not to mention the advertising crotch of Defense News)....It's not online anymore, but can be found on Nexis. Another story that led to a Senate measure adding 20,000 new contract workers to the Pentagon did survive:: Diminished Oversight Leads to Overpricing.
Feels like Emeryville all over again.
Posted by davidphinney at 02:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 07, 2006
A Head for Counting
Monkey see, monkey do... The latest is that FEMA employees are accused of soliciting kickbacks from a food contractor during post-Katrina recovery efforts in New Orleans.
The way they proposed to make their extra money is very similar to what some contractors in Iraq are claimed to do.
It's called headcount. To make more money you simply inflate the headcount. That's what the two FEMA stooges were alleged to be doing in New Orleans:
Prosecutors said the pair allegedly approached a local contractor and offered to inflate the head count for meals at the camp in exchange for a payoff. The contractor held a meal service contract, and would earn more money if the head count were inflated.
As usual, the news report fails to name the contractor. (Is that supposed to be good manners????)
I have an account of one major food contractor under KBR in Iraq who gave out raffle tickets to soldiers every time they visited the food line. It was an incentive not to eat more but to get in line more than once to get a ticket -- it also puffed up the billable head count.
The contractor boasts of helping to boost soldier morale at the same time the raffle boosted the head count of meals served. KBR was in hot water for some time over misrepresenting the number of meals served, but a raffle apparently is just good business -- on the U.S. Army's dime.
The contractor repeatedly told me he would tell me everything about KBR's operation as soon as he was paid tens of millions of dollars that KBR was holding on to during a Pentagon audit. Once he was paid, I asked to hear what he had to say. "Well, that was a long time ago." Later, he added: "I am sick of hearing about corruption."
(Are journalists the only people in the neighborhood expected to keep their word?)
And as far as headcounts are concerned, payrolls are inflated all the time on the cost plus contracts. MORE ON ALL OF THIS LATER.
Posted by davidphinney at 09:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 04, 2006
Private Security Costs
Some one asked about Private Security salaries in Iraq sometime ago. I am cleaning up my notes and thought I would share this trivia from a conference last spring. This is what one security company gave me (if you want attribution, ask me):
Manager -- $180,000 to $250,000.
UK Special forces vet: $630 to $810 daily.
UK Green vet: $405 to $550 daily
TCN (ie, Latin American or non-Euro types) $175 daily
Ghurka $30 daily
Iraqi Guard $12 daily
Other expenses:
Armor vehicle $120,000
Personal Protection Gear $1,500
Green Zone Villa $300,000 a year
Baghdad Hotel $80,000
Typical Corporate Security Operation:
50 expats, (ie, white Euro types)
40 Iraqis and TCNs
Apparently, there were about 80 to 100 private security companies operating in Iraq last year. Thirty-eight were registered. The rest either had better things to do or ignored the edict. As one would-be private operator told me: "We're fighting a fucking war over here. What's with all these regulations?" .... ah, ok.
If you registered you had to post a $25,000 bond for each shooter, abide by a code of conduct and carry an operating license.
Posted by davidphinney at 10:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I Was Thinking the Same Thing
Stop the press.... This just in. Jack Shafer's curtain raiser for the April issue of the Journal of Political Economy::If a media outlet cares about its reputation for accuracy, it will be reluctant to report anything that counters the audiences' existing beliefs because such stories will tend to erode the company's standing. Newspapers and news programs have a visible incentive to "distort information to make it conform with consumers' prior beliefs."
It gets a little more complicated than that. Details appear in Slate.
Posted by davidphinney at 12:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack