Criticism of Treatment of Labor Activists; Workers' Syndicate of the Tehran Bus Company: The Government is Anti-Labor

The Workers' Syndicate of the Tehran Bus Company stated in their Telegram channel that the arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, and case fabrication against labor activists and other professional activists, including teachers in Iran, reflects the anti-labor stance of the Islamic Republic government. This labor organization pointed out Iran's membership in the International Labour Organization (ILO) and its signing of many conventions related to labor laws and workers' rights, adding that the government is obligated to adhere to the ILO's statutes and principles, which it does not, and is among the persistent violators of ILO conventions. The Workers' Syndicate of the Tehran Bus Company wrote that despite the repression, beatings, dismissals, and imprisonment of many of its active members, it has not neglected to defend its rightful rights and those of its colleagues, noting a long list of syndicate members over the past two decades who have been arrested, harassed, and threatened. The labor organization further mentioned Davood Razavi, Reza Shahabi, and Hassan Saidi, its members who were arrested last year and are unjustly imprisoned on false charges. Such treatment of the members of the Workers' Syndicate of the Tehran Bus Company and other labor and professional organizations, such as the Free Workers' Union of Iran and the Coordinating Council of Cultural Associations of Iran, has led to widespread criticism from labor unions and teachers' unions worldwide. The syndicate referred to the major strike of bus drivers and workers of the Tehran Bus Company on December 25, 2005, and its achievements, stating that its colleagues, by becoming aware of their rights, were able to achieve some of their demands by 2011, such as classification, ranking, work uniforms, milk and cake, and even many workers who had been suspended from work by the employer for 4 or 5 years received all their benefits at once. However, according to this labor organization, from 2011 to the present, colleagues have faced many challenges in obtaining benefits and have been unable to hold a general assembly for their independent organization due to the atmosphere of repression and suppression. The Workers' Syndicate of the Tehran Bus Company emphasized that the ruling authority in Iran is averse to independent labor organizations and any independent association and will never allow syndicates and independent councils to exist to uphold the rights of the people in society. Gholamreza Gholam Hosseini, a former member of the syndicate residing in Canada, referred to the December 25 strike in an interview with Voice of America, calling it one of the brightest days in the history of labor struggles in Iran. He noted that after the establishment of the Workers' Syndicate of the Tehran Bus Company in 2004, the employer and government security forces worked to prevent the organization and awareness of syndicate members and employees of the Tehran Bus Company regarding their rightful rights or to mislead them. Mr. Gholam Hosseini emphasized that although the government and security forces and employers were generally unsuccessful, they raised the cost for labor activists and members of the Workers' Syndicate to some extent, referring to the dismissal of these activists and members and the issuance of 'unjust sentences' over the past two decades. He also mentioned that from 2005 to 2011, a significant portion of the workers' rightful rights, which had been forgotten over time, was recognized by pressuring the employer and the government, and they were compelled to fulfill some of the workers' demands, such as providing work uniforms or daily milk, cake, and assistance vouchers. Gholamreza Gholam Hosseini stressed that it is very important to create independent labor organizations by workers and wage earners and that one should not settle for these minimal apparent benefits. He pointed out that various governments of the Islamic Republic, as the main employer in Iran, have carried out a kind of 'military coup at the mid-management level of public jobs,' stating that 'this militarization of jobs began years before the formation of the Workers' Syndicate during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presidency and was officially announced during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, continuing to this day.' This former member of the Workers' Syndicate of the Tehran Bus Company discussed the impact of privatization policies in Iran, which 'in fact, has created a rent-seeking government for military personnel,' adding that 'in every workshop and government office, we see that the manager and board members are military personnel, and these corrupt military managers, who know nothing about management except for theft and looting of public assets, have brought disaster upon society and the working class.' Mr. Gholam Hosseini addressed the experience of the Tehran Bus Company, stating that 'the military employers of the Tehran Bus Company, in collaboration with security officials, have issued long-term sentences for labor activists in the unjust courts of the Islamic Republic since the establishment of the syndicate, and currently three of my colleagues and members of the Workers' Syndicate, Mr. Razavi, Shahabi, and Saidi, are in prison. Nevertheless, he believes that 'the fighters of the working class will not retreat an inch from their demands, namely the liberation of the working class from governmental oppression and injustice, and will not bow their heads.'