Iranian Workers Bulletin Issue 16. No War, No Sanctions, No to the Iranian Regime!

international | worker & community struggles and protests | other press Tuesday December 11, 2007 14:12 by Roja Bamdad - Iranian Iranian Workers Bulletin iranianworkersbulletin at hotmail dot com

In Defence of The Labour Movement in Iran

This issue contains a special report from the International Labour Organisation on Iranian violations of workers rights.

ILO ANNUAL SURVEY OF VIOLATIONS OF TRADE UNION RIGHTS: IRAN.

Protest activity: Despite the ban on strikes, workers protests and other work stoppages are a daily occurrence throughout Iranian enterprises. They are often repressed. Most of these protests concern either low wages, the non-payment of wages, lay-offs or factory closures. The minimum wage set by the government is $US 140 per month, while the official poverty line stands at $US 300. Nearly two million workers have not been paid - some for nearly two years.

Barriers to organising: Obstacles include the presence of security and intelligence forces in workplaces, and the increasing trend towards temporary contracts. It is common practice in Iran to fire workers the day before a three month probation period expires. They are then rehired on a new contract with a new period of three months probation. A worker hired under such a contract is not entitled to benefits and severance pay.

Suppression of Workers' Rights Advocates: During the past year, those who tried to advocate workers rights were detained, harassed, interrogated and subjected to official and unofficial intimidation.
One notable example was Dr. Nasser Zarafshan, a renowned human and workers' rights advocate who faced several attempts on his life while in prison for defending the families of assassinated writers and intellectuals.

Other groups and individuals were also subjected to this policy of legal and illegal intimidation. Their unions were not recognised, their newspapers and websites were closed or subjected to pressure, and they were called for questioning and warned to be silent or face the wrath of the "Islamic Judiciary"

The above text is taken from the ILO report. The full article regarding this is at the link.

Other articles in this issue include:

The Education System in Iran's Wealthiest Province

Another Labour Activist Arrested

New sentences issued for teachers

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