Greetings on May Day to all the workers of the world and the participants in this conference.
The topic I want to address to the conference, is the importance of struggle for the “release of workers, teachers and civil activists” from prison.
With more than 20 years of experience in the union as one of the founders of the Iranian Teachers’ Union and the inspector of the Iranian Cultural Coordination Council and the managing director of “Teachers Pen Weekly” and the liaison of the Coordination Council in International Education, I believe that to be able to defend our lives, livelihood and human dignity, to stand up against the daily attacks on our livelihood, and to pursue our rights, we must push back the repression and attacks. Thus, the release of imprisoned teachers and workers is more important than earning a living, and if the trade union can release an imprisoned teacher or worker, it has done several important achievements:
1- The members of the union realize that this union has so much power that it can release its prisoner.
2- Its extra-organizational effect is that more people become members of the organization. And we can advance our protests with more power.
3- The member of the organization realizes that if he or she is arrested during the protest rally, the organization will strongly defend him/her and release him/her, and feels empowered.
4. Members are also encouraged to participate effectively in the protests.
5. The prisoner’s family also realizes that if a member of the organization goes to a protest rally and is arrested or imprisoned, the organization is powerful and will release him.
6- The trade union has a duty to protect and safeguard its field activists. That is, to use various civil strategies to defend actively the freedom of their union activists.
The most important strategy of any organization for the release of its activists is to gather and strike.
From March 2022, a program was put on the agenda of teachers’ union activists. The plan was that if any security and judicial body summoned an employed or retired teacher, the teachers would accompany and support the summoned union activist to the designated court.
In this way, in the cities of Shiraz, Ahvaz, Qazvin and Rudsar, teachers accompanied their comrades and gathered in front of the courts to support the fellow teachers. This method had a great impact on public spirit and the families of those summoned. It also raised the morale of those summoned and enabled them to appear in court with courage and defend themselves.
I suggest:
If any worker or teacher is summoned or arrested, organizations will immediately call for a strike or rally. In this way, the government would be under pressure because it has to pay a price for each arrest.
. In my opinion, the most important solution to fulfill the demands of teachers, workers, etc., as well as to increase the power of protest and confrontation with the government, is that the workers ‘, teachers’, students ‘and retirees’ movements must unite. I suggest that they first agree on a figure to increase wages above the poverty line.
– The executive proposal of this alliance is as follows:
Form a committee of trade unions, teachers, students and retirees.
The committee can meet in cyberspace or physically to agree on the demands of its members. Teachers, workers and retirees are exploited. Authoritarians violate the rights of these groups.
– Protests with strikes and rallies have the greatest impact on the government.
Strikes and rallies must be continuous and constant. .
– If with every summoning and arrest of teachers ‘, workers’, students ‘and retirees’ union activists, they hold a protest rally and a continuous strike on the same day, the government’s repression machine will get stuck !!
Finally, I call on all trade unions and humanitarian organizations to support the struggles of workers, teachers and the protesting people in Iran. And demand the release of imprisoned teachers, imprisoned workers and all political prisoners.
Mohammad Khaksari is one of the founders of the Teachers’ Union
Responsible manager and of the teacher pen weekly
