Letter of Iranian car workers to the ILO

A group of Iran Khodro car workers have added their voice to the protest against the presence of Hassan Sadeghi and Parviz Ahmadi Panjaki at the ILO annual conference.

A group of Iran Khodro car workers have added their voice to the protest against the presence of Hassan Sadeghi and Parviz Ahmadi Panjaki at the ILO annual conference. (June 14, 2005)

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We do not recognise the delegation from Iran as our representative since we workers do not have any labour organisations. The conference participants are from the Labour House and the Labour House is a totally government run organisation. The creation of any free labour organisations not linked to the government, including labour councils, trade unions and labour unions, has been banned by the Labour Ministry. The legal authorities in Iran brand anyone who takes steps towards this as disrupting the peace in society and of the bosses and are either arrested or sacked from work. We Iranian workers condemn the acceptance of this delegation and the removal of Iran from the International Labour Organisation’s list of [countries] that violate workers’ rights.

Honourable participants,

On 7 June 2005, in a letter to the Director-General Juan Somavia, we Iranian workers gave the reasons for this and provided documents [to support our position]. But unfortunately the Director-General, who has the objective of completing the initiative of the European authorities on accepting Iran into the World Trade Organisation, and the green light shown by the United States to Iran, at the same time thumbed their nose at Iranian workers. They not only welcomed the delegation but have also taken Iran off the list of countries that are in breach of labour rights and have declared that Iran treats its workers according to the ILO standards and conventions.

Honourable participants,

At the same time as drawing your attention to our letter of 7 June 2005 to the Director-General of the ILO we ask you how this constitutes observance of the ILO standards and conventions.

Which article of the ILO conventions include the banning of any type of labour organisation? You may ask this of the Iranian authorities.

Does the Iran Khodro Company have a labour organisation? You can ask why the Iran Khodro Company, with over thirty thousand workers, has no labour organisation of any kind. Why does the Labour Ministry not give the Islamic Labour Councils, which the Iranian government itself recognises as legal labour organisations, the permission to create labour organisations in the Iran Khodro Company, when over thirty thousands of us employed in it are devoid of any labour organisation? For around 25 years we workers of Iran have not had any kind of labour organisation. The bosses, with the help of Labour Ministry, create obstacles on the day of the election [of workers’ representatives] (you can even ask this of the Labour House officials). The creation of any kind of labour organisation is banned in Iran and membership in labour organisations is considered a crime. If people take steps to create a labour organisation they are immediately arrested, sentenced and sacked and are prevented from going to work. They cancel the election day through various means because we workers do not have labour organisations and therefore do not have workers’ representatives. We ask the honourable participants not to accept the delegation from Iran as workers’ representatives.

Honourable participants,

Having free labour organisations is our right. We would like to have any type of organisation that we want. We workers behave according to ILO conventions but the Iranian authorities do not give us this right. Holding a workers’ general meeting without the permission of the Labour Ministry is forbidden. If we attempt to hold a general meeting we are sacked immediately. The Labour Ministry of Iran does not officially recognise labour organisations other than government run organisations. We workers do not like participating in government organisations. We do not like participating in organisations where the main member is the boss. We invite you to read the regulations of the Islamic Labour Councils that have been written by the Iranian government and the Labour Ministry is obliged to implement. The Labour Ministry of Iran does not accept any of the ILO conventions, so a government that does not accept the ILO conventions has no right to be a member of that organisation.

We Iranian workers have no job security! In jobs that ought to be permanent we work on a temporary and daily wage basis. They force the workers to sign a blank contract so that whenever the boss wants he can throw us out. We temporary workers are not entitled to unemployment benefit. This is a clear breach of our just rights. We Iranian workers do not have the right to hold an International Labour Day ceremony freely. Those participating in International Labour Day ceremonies are arrested and tried. In which article of the ILO conventions is taking part in International Labour Day ceremonies considered a crime? We Iranian workers are paid wages under the poverty line. To get through our daily life we have to work 11 hours [a day]. Two of our workmates, Peyman Razavi and Omid Oladi, died from the pressures of work. We go to work on Fridays [which is the Muslim equivalent of Sunday] and if we object [to this] then we are arrested on the charge of disrupting work and sacked. Parviz Salarvand was arrested and sacked on this charge. When the whole world protested against this move, they released him but the company announced the conditions for his return on a television show. The inhuman act of forcing a worker to make a confession without the presence a lawyer and compelling him to admit to a crime he has not committed – which international law does abide by? The killing of dozens of our mates, including Fereydoon Golestani, Sadegh Khanmiri, Behrooz Amini and Habibollah Kazemi in work accidents – which safety standard does this observe?

Honourable participants,

Do the cases mentioned clearly violate workers’ rights? Then why does the ILO, instead of obliging Iran to rectify these cases, take Iran off the list of [countries] that violate workers’ rights? Instead the ILO declares that Iran is observing international labour standards. We Iranian workers condemn this move by the International Labour Organisation and we ask you, the honourable participants, to revoke the membership of the Labour Ministry of Iran due to its non-observance of labour standards, not implementing ILO conventions and avoiding giving the workers their rights.

A group of Iran Khodro workers

10 June 2005

Translated by Amin Kazemi of the Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network

Copies of the translation were sent to:

ILO, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, World Confederation of Labour, European Trade Union Confederation, and Confédération Générale du Travail.