On 4th November 2018, truck drivers’ strike in Iran has expanded to 50 cities in 23 provinces. The first demand of the striking drivers is “immediate and unconditional release” of their 262 colleagues.
In previous strike the authorities arrested 262 workers and threatened 17 with death penalty that received worldwide condemnation and call from international labour organisations to free the workers and meet their demands.
Despite the condemnations from the international labour organisation Islamic regime hasn’t released the workers and stepped up its repression in different ways.
The Islamic regime hoped to end strikes and protests by arresting workers and their organisers and leaders, as well as persecution of activists in other fields including kidnapping of Hashem Khastar, arrest of teacher activists – Mohammad Saleh Shokri, Abbas Vahedian, Abdolreza Ghanbari, Esmail Abdi, Mohammad habibi, Mahmood Beheshti, Rouallah Mardani, death sentence against five environmental activists, and to terrorise society by execution of political activists such as Zaniar Moradi, Loghman Moradi, Ramin Hosein Panahi. The list is endless.
Despite all the threats, pressures and challenges the truck drivers have managed to reorganise and together with the rest of society send a very clear message to the Islamic regime: “we are not intimidated!”, “we are not afraid!”
The drivers have shown that the organisation and strike is necessity of their lives and regardless of what the Islamic regime and its judiciary and armed forces do, they come back “stronger than ever” and more determined.
The striking truck drivers have attracted popular support in society by representing objection of the vast majority to poverty, high prices, discrimination, and widespread embezzlements and corruptions. The drivers have displayed banners of solidarity with other workers and teachers on their trucks and emphasised on the “solidarity as the key to success.”
The workers’ demands in their forth strike are:
Immediate and unconditional release of their arrested colleagues, Wage increase for the drivers and retired drivers , Installation of welfare facilities for drivers in terminals, Removing dealers and agents from terminals and freights, Clarity on situation of their insurance, Safety of roads, End to embezzlements by traffic police and officials, Right to organisation, Increase of rate in accordance to inflation, Reduction of price of tyres and car parts as well as ability to purchase by government exchange rate,
We call on international labour organisations to demand expulsion of Islamic Republic of Iran from ILO for its inhuman treatment of the workers, and support the workers’ struggle to make “right to organisation” a reality for workers in Iran.
Campaign to Free jailed workers in Iran
November5, 2018