Dear director General Houngbo:
On behalf of the 49,000 public school teachers in British Columbia, I am writing to express our strong concern over the treatment of activists in Iran, and to call on the ILO to expel the Iranian regime.
Over the past three weeks, teachers and students have been engaged in a strike under the central slogan of “Woman, Life, Freedom.” These protests began after the death of Masha Amini, 22 years old, who was killed while in custody for allegedly violating the country’s laws on clothing.
Schools have been attacked in the past three weeks and many students and supporting .teachers have been arrested for protesting against gender discrimination.
The anti-government protests come after two years in which the Islamic regime of Iran has intensified the persecution of those fighting for a just and equitable future.
Teachers have been actively taking part in protests in Iran and are being sentenced to prison for seeking to defend their basic rights and union activities.
Teachers are protesting against poverty, discrimination, embezzlement, and oppression by the government. Their urgent demand is free education for all children, a right that is being threatened by poverty and the rise of child labour in Iran.
Since May 2022, 230 teachers have been kidnapped, arrested, and imprisoned across the country. 16 of them are still in custody. Their names are: Hamid Abbasi, Mohammad Alishondi, Asghar Amirzadegan, Rasul Bodaghi, Jafar Ebrahimi, Zahra Esfandariai, Hiva Goraishi, Mohammad Habibi, Parviz Hasani, Gholamreza Gholami Kundazi, Iskandar Lotfi, Shaban Mohammadi, Naser Musavi, Iskandar Lotfi, Shaban Mohammadi, Naser Mousavi, Masoud Nikkhah, Omid Shamohammadi, Mohammad Ali Zahmtakhesh. One teacher, Ismail Abdi, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for defending the rights of teachers and has been in prison for six years now.
Other teachers and worker activists are also in prison with heavy sentences. Their names are: Masoumeh Askari, Nusrat Beheshti, Abbas Deris, AliehEghdamdost, Ali Eshagh, Mohammad Taqi Fallahi, Nahid Fatahalian, Mehdi Fathi, Ismail Gerami, Hashem Gharin, Abolfazl Ghasali, Sepideh Gholyan, Shadi Gilak, Zainab Hamrang, Arash Johari, Somaye Kargar, Alia Kakahdoost, Hashem Khastar, Javad Lal Mohammadi, Mehram Raouf, Hale Safarzadeh,Alireza Saghfi, Mohammad Hossein Sepehari, Bahareh Solimani, Nahid Taqhavi, Abbas Vahidian, Hale Safarzadeh Zhamtakash and Mohammad Ali Zhamtakash.
Iran is actively violating the protocols of the ILO, including Protocols 87 and 98 regarding freedom of association and collective agreements. Workers in Iran are deprived of the right to organize. Iran is also violating Protocols 138 and 182 regarding the prohibition of child labour. Hundreds of thousands of children are working in dangerous conditions.
A regime that has a global record of repression and crimes, including these examples of gender discrimination and actions against teachers and other labour activists, should not have a place in an international organization devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights.
Sincerely,
BC TEACHERS’ FEDERATION
Gilbert Houngbo
October 24, 2022
100 – 550 West 6th Avenue
Vancouver, BC Canada V5Z 4P2
BCTF.ca | 604-871-2283