International Confederation of Trade Unions: Trade Union Rights Are Not Respected in Iran

The International Confederation of Trade Unions has placed Iran among the countries where trade union rights are not guaranteed and are not respected in its 2024 report. According to the website of the International Confederation of Trade Unions, the report mentions that Iranian teachers have been demanding suitable working conditions and the recognition of their fundamental rights and freedoms for years. Nevertheless, the authorities of the Islamic Republic have suppressed them and their union activists. The report highlights the intensified crackdown on teachers and their activists following the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in custody of the morality police in September 2022, noting that currently, 44 officials and members of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations are arbitrarily detained due to their union activities. The International Confederation of Trade Unions further states that the activities of teachers' unions have faced serious challenges, with union activists experiencing severe violations of their fundamental legal rights, such as false accusations, deprivation of legal rights, lack of access to lawyers, and torture for false confessions. The report also mentions the Islamic Republic's efforts to force teachers to withdraw from union activities, the lack of access to appropriate medical treatment for imprisoned teachers, and the harassment of their family members. Currently, several teachers and their union activists are imprisoned on security charges, some have been released on bail, and others have faced administrative actions such as dismissal. The intensification of security and judicial crackdowns by the Islamic Republic on teachers, workers, and retirees in recent years has been met with increasing criticism from trade unions and labor organizations worldwide. Exclusive: Dozens of retired teachers have been arrested by the government forces of the Islamic Republic in Tehran. Government forces attacked retirees on the third day of protests in front of the Planning and Budget Organization. Nine activists from the teachers' union in Kerman province have been summoned to court. The release of Mostafa Rabati, a member of the teachers' union, followed his violent arrest.