Model letter of protest to Iranian authorities

The recent attacks on independent trade union activities in Iran require a firm response from the international labour movement. Here we provide a model letter to be signed, dated and sent to the President of Iran. The ICFTU has already taken up this issue and you can see their letter to the President of Iran.

Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Khatami
President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue , Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran

xx May 2005

 

Dear Mr President

 

I write to bring to your attention the recent grave developments within the Iranian workers’ movement and express my deep concern about them. These began as abductions of individual activists Sadegh Amiri, a member of the Committee in Pursuit of Free Labour Organisations in Iran, and Parviz Salarvand, a worker at the Iran Khodro car plant.

The situation further deteriorated for independent labour activists when ‘Labour House’ and ‘Islamic Labour Council’ members were allowed to attack activists trying to set up an independent trade union in Sherkat-e Vahed, a Tehran transport company. As you know this was a violent attack, led by the Secretary of the ‘Islamic Labour Council’, during which an attempt was made to cut out the tongue of one of the activists. Many of the trade union activists were injured and their office was ransacked by these government-sanctioned ‘labour’ officials.

I hope that you can bring the authority of your office to put pressure on the relevant legal bodies to prosecute these individuals and disband their organisations, as their existence is in contravention of ILO conventions. I believe that if elements within the Iranian government resist or hinder this process then holding a trial under the auspices of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and similar international labour bodies in an EU country would be effective in protecting the just rights of Iranian workers.

Such a development will set a precedent and so that no other group will ever attempt to force workers, their genuine representatives or independent organisations, to be afraid of carrying out their rightful activities to defend their jobs and working conditions.

I look forward to hearing about your positive intervention in this regard in the international media.

Yours sincerely


Please send your protest letters to:

Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Khatami
President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue , Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 98-21-648.06.65

Email: khatami@president.ir

 

Please send a copy of your protest letters to:

Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network
Email: iranwsn@yahoo.co.uk


The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
ICFTU
5 Boulevard du Roi Albert II, Bte 1
1210 Brussels
Belgium
Fax: +32 (0)2 201 5815
E-mail: turights@icftu.org

International Labour Organization (ILO)
International Labour Office
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland

Email: ilo@ilo.org