ILO Workers' Group
Avenue Blanc 46

CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland

Attention: Mr. Leroy Trotman, Mr. Dan Cunniah, Ms. Anna Biondi and all members of ILO Workers’ Group

Dear Madams and Sirs:

Please find attached an appeal in support of workers’ rights in Iran. This appeal has been signed by nearly 30 organizations including some of ICFTU and Global Unions affiliates as well as over 600 concerned individuals and labour activists. It is being sent to the ICFTU, Global Unions Federations, their affiliates and other international labour organizations as well as the ILO’s Workers’ Group.

As you are very well aware, the Iranian working class is deprived of numerous internationally recognized human and labour rights. For instance, the IRI’s labour law does not recognize, among other things, the rights to organize freely and strike. The freedom of association and the right to effective collective bargaining has never been tolerated in Iran de facto or de jure. The only formal organizations that claim to be representing the workers in Iran, such as the government-sponsored “Workers’ House”, “Islamic Labor Councils” and also the recently formed “guild associations”, are mainly suppressive tools of the regime.  For instance, the Association of Iranian Journalists and the Association of Truck Drivers are basically instruments at the hands of the Islamic Participation Front that retains the control of the Ministry of Labour and a number of other ministries as well as the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament). 

Having said that, the ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association visited Iran from September 27^th to October 3^rd, 2002 and subsequently issued a contradictory report, in which it vaguely acknowledged the lack of independent worker organizations in Iran. The report approved the state-affiliated, self-appointed “guild associations” such as the Iranian Journalists Association, as a good example of free and independent labour organizations in Iran.  Furthermore, Just very recently, an “independent labour mission” visited ILO’s headquarters and met with ILO’s officials allegedly “on behalf of workers in Iran”. This mission included representatives from the High Society of Islamic Labour Councils, Workers’ House, Iranian Journalists Association and Association of Truck Drivers. It is extremely troubling, yet not surprising, that these government propped organizations call themselves “independent labour organizations” and receive warm receptions from the ILO’s officials. The International Labour Office’s collaboration with the IRI and its “labour arms” has been ongoing in the past few years. This approach represents a gross disregard of the ongoing struggles by independent workers’ movements in Iran for the formation of free and democratic labour organizations.  These state-affiliated and business-controlled groups must not be allowed, under any justifications, to attend international labour conventions, conferences or gatherings in the names of workers in Iran.

On the other hand, the neo-liberal agenda of privatizations, lay offs, contracting out, outsourcing, deregulations, and non-payment of wages, etc. continues in full force in Iran. For years, we have protested against the Islamic Republic’s anti-worker labour laws, policies and practices. This is a regime that does not recognize internationally recognized human rights and has imposed the most unbearable and oppressive conditions on working people and deprived masses in Iran. Almost 70 percent of Iran’s population now lives in absolute poverty.  Its recent waves of attacks on workers’ rights, including the exemption of workshops of 5 and 10 employees or less from the minimal rights stipulated in the labour law and the non-payment of wages to over one million workers, have severely worsened the working and living conditions of millions of workers and their families in Iran.  They provide the utmost favourable conditions for capitalists and the state, as the main employer, to attack workers’ rights in all sectors including larger workplaces. It will allow them to freely lay off workers, downsize workplaces, reduce wages, increase child labour and violate all workplace health and safety standards. All these are parts of “economic structural adjustment” and other anti-worker policies of the international Monetary Fund, World Bank and multi-national corporations. All employers’ groups, the government of Khatami and various parliamentary and political factions within the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the above mentioned “guild associations”, are supporting and aggressively engaged in implementing this anti-worker neo-liberal direction.

The attached appeal is calling on the international labour organizations such as ICFTU and Global Unions Federations and their affiliates to play an active and direct role in supporting workers’ demands in Iran as well as defending their struggles to organize themselves into genuine and independent organizations. We also call on ILO to adhere to its own declarations on fundamental workers’ rights.  We are particularly expecting the workers’ group in ILO to take these issues into their consideration and duly examine and openly clarify the ILO’s agenda and objectives in regard to Iran.

We will pursue this appeal along with other campaigns that we are currently involved in support of workers’ rights in Iran during the coming months. Please contact us at the above address if you have any questions or require more information. Thank you.

Sincerely,

IASWI
Contact Persons: Farid C. Partovi/ Mehdi Kouhestaninejad
email:  alliance@workers-iran.org