Four Labor Organizations in Iran: Stop the Sentences of Whipping and Imprisonment for Workers

Several labor organizations in Iran have condemned the issuance of whipping and imprisonment sentences for workers from two mines in Iran, demanding the halt of these 'oppressive' sentences. The website 'Kalameh' reported on Wednesday, June 16, citing the Teacher and Worker Rights website, that a statement from several labor organizations called for the cessation of the whipping sentence for workers at the Agh-Dareh gold mine and the prison and whipping sentences for workers at the Bafq iron ore mine. Previously, other labor organizations had also expressed regret and condemned the execution of whipping sentences for dismissed workers from the Agh-Dareh mine. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman and head of the Management and Planning Organization, also expressed regret in response to the news of 17 workers being whipped in the first week of June this year in East Azerbaijan. The news of these workers being whipped and the issuance of whipping and prison sentences for other mining workers in recent weeks has sparked widespread reactions among labor rights activists and on social media. In the joint statement of the four labor organizations, published in full on the Kalameh website, these organizations also called for the removal of security charges against labor activists. The signatories include the Labor Association of Chador Malu, the Labor Association of Construction Workers in Marivan, the Labor Association of Bakeries in Sanandaj and its suburbs, and the Labor Association of Bakeries in Marivan and Sarvabad. The statement emphasized that 'the last days of June are passing hard for workers and wage earners while the trend of layoffs continues to increase.' According to the authors of the statement, 'unemployment has become a major problem for the entire population, especially for working-class families.' The statement also refers to the overdue wage demands of workers from both public and private employers, which have made it impossible for workers to cover their families' expenses for food, clothing, education, health care, housing, and other necessities. It specifies that 'the wages of bakery workers across Iran have not increased for about two years.' The labor organizations issuing this statement largely refer to the issuance of whipping and prison sentences for workers protesting layoffs, privatization, and pursuing their demands in Iranian courts. They describe the issuance and execution of whipping, prison, and fines for 17 workers at the Agh-Dareh gold mine, who protested against their dismissal and non-renewal of contracts in 2014, as 'shocking.' The statement notes that 'the judiciary in the city of Bafq sentenced nine workers from the iron ore mine in this city, who protested during the protests and strikes in 2014 against privatization and layoffs, to prison and whipping.' The authors of the statement describe the issuance and execution of these sentences as 'inhumane,' stating that they were issued for workers who 'only seek their most basic rights.' Furthermore, the statement clarifies that this is not the first time such sentences have been issued against workers, referencing the history of prison and whipping sentences for several teachers and workers protesting the violation of their labor rights in recent years. The issuance of whipping sentences for five workers at the Chador Malu mine and similar sentences for protesting workers at the Razi petrochemical plant are among the examples cited in the statement as precedents for such rulings in Iranian courts against workers and labor rights activists. The statement declares 'strikes in the workplace' as 'part of the nature of the workplace and the relationship between workers and employers' and states that resolving such issues falls within the responsibilities of 'dispute resolution boards and committees,' not the judiciary. Iranian labor law remains silent on the 'right to strike,' and labor rights activists believe this silence is one of the weaknesses of labor law in Iran.