From: Free Them Now (Campaign to free all jailed workers in Iran)
20-10-2018
Dear friends,
As you know, truck drivers who went on strike on 23rd September for three weeks after the authorities refused to address their urgent demands including low-payment of salaries which put drivers’ livelihood and their families in danger, faced a harsh repression by the authorities. 256 striking drivers were arrested and on 8th October 2018, Mohesen Karami, head of Qazvin province prosecutor Office filed a lawsuit against 17 drivers. He said: “We will demand the highest punishment for them and if their enmity is proven, heavy sentences such as execution will be waiting for them.”
The “enmity” that the prosecutor refers to is nothing but care for life, and care for their family and loved ones. Global Union Federations (The international Transport Federation (ITF). Education International(E1), IndusriALL Global union, The International union of Food. Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering. Tobacco and Allied Workers, Association (IUF), and the international Trade Union Confederation(ITUC)) in a joint statement on 17th October 2018, to Ali Khamenei, condemned the execution threats, and demanded unconditional and immediate release of the all the detained drivers, and raise concerns over the “lack of judicial independence” in Iran.
Free Them Now call on all the trade unions and humanist organisations around the world to join the above mentioned labour federations and actively and urgently support Irainan truck drivers and condemn Islamic regime for violating their basic rights and call for immediate release of those drivers who have been arrested and are under death threat.
Besiades the 256 truck drivers, many teachers were arrested recently because of their national strike on 14 and 15 October over low pay and inhumane educations system in Iran. Mohammed Reza Ramazan Zadeh general secretary of the teachers association, Mohammed Saleh Shekari a teacher from Saqez city, Abbas Vahedyan a teacher from Meshhed city were arrested on 15 October and several other teachers were already in prison including Abdolreza Ghanbari, Imsail Abdi, Mohammed Habibi, Mahmoud Beheshti.
We strongly recommend that ILO expels the Islamic Republic of Iran from the organisation for ignoring “the many recommendations” over the past four decades, and demand immediate and unconditional release of all the detained workers and teachers.
Free Them Now (Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran)
shahla.Daneshfar2@gmail.com
You can see the statement of the global union federations here:
https://www.ituc-csi.org/global-union-federations-denounce