Open letter by workers, teachers and workers’ organisations in Iran to the participants at the 111th annual conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, June 5, 2023
We, the signatories of this letter, address the delegates participating at the 111th conference of the International Labour Organisation and draw their attention to the suppression of workers’ and people’s protests in Iran.
During the past years, especially in the last two years, the economic policies of the Iranian government have created widespread poverty and misery for the general public, especially for wage earners and workers. The murder of Mahsa Amini (Gina Amini) in September of last year ignited people’s anger over the rampant poverty and miserable life. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement emerged out of this situation against this whole system of abject poverty and exploitation. But it is very unfortunate that the response to the protests against us workers, teachers, pensioners, children’s rights activists and people has been nothing but overt repression. In the course of this massive popular movement, several thousand people have been arrested and imprisoned, including children and pupils. In addition, according to statistics, at least 500 people have been killed.
In the meantime, in the last two years, labour activists, protesting teachers and other social activists and trade unions have been subjected to the highest degree of repression.
Some of these prisoners include:
Workers and activists defending the rights of imprisoned workers: Kamal Karimi, Shadman Abdi, Abdullah Khairabadi, Sirvan Mahmoudi, Eghbal Pishkari, Hajar Saeedi, Khabat Mahmoudi, Habibullah Karimi, Reza Shahabi, Arash Johari, Hassan Saeedi, Nasrin Javadi, Milad Rabei, Abbas Daris, Asad Meftahi, Peyman Salem, Erfan Kohzad, Dawood Razavi, Keyvan Mohtadi, Mehran Raouf, Sepideh Gholian, Abolfazl Ghasali, and others.
Imprisoned teachers: Rasool Bodaghi, Esmail Abdi, Jafar Ebrahimi, Aziz Qasemzadeh, Anoush Adeli, Mahmoud Sedighipour, Farzaneh Nazeranpour, Hashem Khaastar, Mehdi Fathi, Hossein Ramazanpour, Omid Shahmohammadi, Mohammad Ghanati, Farzad Safikhanpour, Fateh Osmani, Nahid Shirpisheh, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, Gholamreza Asghari, Zainab Hamrang, Javad Lal Mehdi.
In addition, a number of protesting women are in prison for not wearing the hijab, as well as pupils, students and other political activists, most of whom are detainees of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
This long list shows what is going on in Iran and how the most basic human rights of people are being violated. In addition, the rule of gender apartheid and suppression of women with the stick of hijab has put them under more pressure and oppression both at the social level and in the workplace.
Therefore, a pillar of the popular uprising of the past eight months has been the defence of women’s rights, which expresses itself in the slogan Woman, Life, Freedom.
We, the signatories of this letter, as part of a ongoin immense social movement and also as part of the labour movement protesting against the status quo, are trying to be the voice of this movement, the voice of protest of all the protesting workers and people of Iran.
We request the trade union delegates participating at the conference to condemn these repressions and the increasing violation of the rights of workers and teachers, in particular the violation of the right to independent organisation and to assemble and protest, which are the most basic rights of people in any society.
We also ask the workers’ delegates participating at this conference to condemn the Iranian government’s suppression of independent trade unions and labour organisations and their members.
We ask the workers’ delegates taking part at the International Labour Conference to voice their protest against these repressive measures to the Iranian government’s delegation. These delegates do not represent the workers, the teachers and the people of Iran.
The “trade union” delegates participating from Iran are the representatives of state-made organisations.
We also object to the ILO’s appeasement of the Islamic Republic and its repressions.
Finally, we, the signatories of this letter, specifically request the workers’ delegates participating at the annual conference of the ILO to put the following urgent items on the agenda of the conference, and we urge them to do their utmost for their approval and implementation:
A) Immediate and unconditional revoking of all charges levelled against all trade unionists imprisoned in Iran and the release of all imprisoned workers, teachers and social activists and those arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, as well as the release of all political prisoners and the immediate revoking of execution sentences.
B) Expulsion of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the International Labour Organisation and not permitting this government’s delegation to participate at the conference.
Signatories:
1- Organising Council of Protests of Contract Oil Workers
2- Organising Council of Fixed-Term-Contract Oil Workers (Arkan-e Saales)
3- The Follow-Up Committee for the Formation of Labour Organisations
4- Iran Pensioners’ Council
5- The independent Voice of the Workers of National Steel Group
6- Kermanshah Electrical and Metal Workers’ Union
7- Union of Painters of Alborz Province
8- Defenders of the Abolition of Child Labour
May 2023
This letter is handed over to ILO and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights