International Workers' Day Under Severe Economic Conditions; Labor Organizations: Organizing for Change is Essential

International Workers' Day, May 1st, has arrived in Iran under dire economic conditions, such as wages three times below the poverty line, delayed payments, lack of job security, rising inflation, and decreasing purchasing power, putting immense pressure on millions of workers and their families. In this context, several labor activists and organizations, including retirees, issued statements on the occasion of International Workers' Day, criticizing the government's 'anti-labor policies' and emphasizing the necessity of 'united action, organization, and mobilization' of workers and wage earners to change the current situation in Iran. The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company stated in its statement that this year's International Workers' Day is being commemorated while three members of the syndicate—'Reza Shahabi, Davood Razavi, and Hassan Saidi—and hundreds of workers, teachers, and defenders of workers' rights are imprisoned and facing unjust sentences.' The statement added, 'The repression and harassment of workers, women, and youth in Iran have intensified.' This organization pointed to issues such as 'lack of job security, temporary work contracts, the proliferation of contracting companies, unpaid wages, non-implementation of job classification, non-implementation of equalization of pensions and benefits, and wages three times below the poverty line.' The statement also criticized the 'astronomical costs of housing, and inflation and exorbitant prices' that have imposed unbearable conditions on a large segment of the working class. According to this organization, 'The further fall of the rial's value, while a blessing for capitalists, brokers, and holders of global currencies, means a significant reduction in our purchasing power and standard of living.' The syndicate added in part of its statement: 'Widespread privatization, administrative corruption, incompetence in all management sectors, suppression of independent labor organizations and activists, and complete control of workplaces have severely limited the possibility of effective organization of workers, and the influence of state-affiliated organizations, which serve as a pressure valve for the ruling system and capitalist relations, are among the main obstacles to protests, strikes, and organization of workers, making the continuation of these insecure and unjust economic and social conditions possible.' The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company emphasized: 'Pressuring progressive and rights-seeking workers, threatening and intimidating them, dismissals, arrests, imprisonment, and unjust sentences have become norms of the ruling system. They do not even spare workers for holding independent International Workers' Day ceremonies.' Currently, besides the three members of this syndicate, several other labor activists are detained on security charges or are serving their sentences. Notable individuals include Keyvan Mohtadi, Anisha Asadollahi, Maziar Seyednejad, Sharifeh Mohammadi, Reyhaneh Ansarinezha, Nasrin Javadi, Nahid Khodajoo, and Osman Esmaeili. The syndicate wrote: 'Members of the syndicate have been repeatedly arrested and beaten on International Workers' Day in the past and have been summoned and threatened multiple times in recent years to cease their syndical activities.' Regarding the situation of their three detained members—Davood Razavi, Reza Shahabi, and Hassan Saidi, who 'are still imprisoned and constantly under pressure, threats, and harassment from interrogators and officials of Evin Prison'—they added: 'Despite their dire physical conditions, they are not even granted medical leave, and although their cases have been closed and years of imprisonment imposed on them, interrogators continue to threaten and harass them on every occasion.' The syndicate emphasized that 'this atmosphere of repression and this high level of suppression against the working class cannot continue.' They noted that International Workers' Day is an opportunity to declare 'no to the current conditions' and strive for 'fundamental changes.' In recent days, news has emerged about meetings between individuals labeled as 'workers' by the Islamic Republic media with Ali Khamenei, the leader, and several other officials of the Islamic Republic. The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company condemned 'the repression of workers, teachers, and other activists of labor and civil movements' and called for an end to the repressive actions of the government and the unconditional release of Hassan Saidi, Reza Shahabi, Davood Razavi, and other imprisoned labor activists, political prisoners, and prisoners of conscience. This labor organization reiterated its opposition to the death penalty and called for the unconditional cessation of executions of political and ordinary prisoners. The statement also raised the demand for 'an immediate ceasefire, an end to the war and mass killings of innocent people in Gaza, and the cessation of military tensions and warmongering policies in the region and the world,' stating: 'Our children do not live in luxury and safety in Europe and North America like the children of the elite, who live off embezzlement and plundering of public assets. The greatest human, financial, and social losses in a war situation will be borne by us workers and our children, who will increasingly be repressed and subjected to double oppression and exploitation.' The Free Union of Iranian Workers also issued a statement on International Workers' Day, noting that nearly two years have passed since the 'revolutionary uprising of women, life, freedom, and its field repression,' stating: 'Women and the oppressed masses of the Iranian people have created and institutionalized an irreconcilable dichotomy in the political sphere of the country by breaking the patterns of government thought and life.' The statement adds that on one side of this dichotomy 'stands the Islamic Republic with all its repressive apparatus and inhuman nature, and on the other side, women and the majority of freedom-seeking and equality-demanding people are arrayed, negating the ideological foundations and existence of the government and openly manifesting their intellectual, ideological, social, and cultural life in millions.' This labor organization emphasized that 'despite any degree of brutal repression of the women's freedom movement and other social movements, the government has not been able to return the political and social-cultural situation of the country to before Shahrivar 1401 (September 2022) and the beginning of the revolutionary uprising of women, life, freedom.' The Free Union of Iranian Workers believes that in these conditions, 'the Islamic Republic is trying to maintain its dying position through regional military adventurism and internal terror by issuing and enforcing inhumane death sentences and brutal attacks on women and girls opposing compulsory hijab, creating a barrier against potential and fundamental popular uprisings.' This organization called for the immediate and unconditional release of imprisoned civil and labor activists and political and ideological prisoners, while emphasizing the realization of the demands of workers and wage earners in Iran, condemning 'any warmongering in the region and the killing of civilians and women and children in Palestine and Israel.' The statement emphasized that 'only a popular social-political revolution and the establishment of a secular and democratic government based on freedom and equality and the negation of exploitation can put an end to the inhumane conditions in the country and the crisis and warmongering and human slaughter in the Middle East.' Additionally, four labor and retirees' organizations issued a joint statement referring to the 'domination of the Islamic capitalist system,' stating that its result is 'the continuation and intensification of poverty and misery of workers and toilers, increased working hours, low wage levels, rising inflation, and decreasing purchasing power and livelihoods of working-class families, repression of social-democratic movements of women, teachers, nurses, retirees, progressive artists, youth, students, and oppressed nations.' The Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane, the Union of Retirees, the Coordination Committee to Help Establish Labor Organizations, and the Retired Workers of Khuzestan emphasized that 'the working class's struggle to achieve economic and political demands is essential and must continue under all circumstances.' In this joint statement, they stressed the need for 'increased wages, reduced working hours, prohibition of child labor, elimination of discrimination against migrant workers, provision of social insurance and free education and healthcare, job security for job seekers, and unemployment insurance for the unemployed, equality of women and men in employment, wages, and responsibilities, freedom of expression, assembly, strike, and organization and party formation, freedom of political prisoners, and abolition of medieval punishments and executions, as well as provision of adequate housing for all.' Despite all this, the signatories of the statement believe that the struggle for the realization of these demands alone is not enough and must be accompanied by a political-economic orientation of workers. The Union of Retirees also stated in its statement that 'the current conditions in Iran are extremely tragic for wage earners,' writing: 'Low wages, heavy inflation, high housing costs, job insecurity, temporary and exploitative contracts, ineffective and inaccessible insurances, and the bleak future of their children due to poor-quality education and commodification of education and learning add to the woes of this class every day.' This retirees' organization added: 'Workers do not have job security; they are more affected by work-related accidents and unsafe environments than other professions.' According to ILNA news agency on Tuesday, April 30, quoting Ali Ziaei, head of the Crime Scene Investigation Group of the Forensic Medicine Organization, 'In 1402 (2023), 2,115 people lost their lives in work-related accidents, which is an 11.3% increase compared to the same period last year, where the death toll was 1,900.' Some labor activists believe that this official statistic does not include workers not covered by labor laws or those working in so-called 'under-stair' workshops. The Union of Retirees emphasized the need for 'organization and mobilization' of workers and wage earners, stating that this 'can support workers as a class; hence, governments employ all their coercive power against independent organizations and unions.' The Council of Retirees of Iran also stated: 'This year, in continuation of the Women, Life, Freedom revolution, facing intensified policies of repression against women in the streets and the formation of solidarity inside and outside against the death sentence of Tomaj Salehi and for his freedom, amidst unprecedented public discontent and the expansion of strikes and protests by workers, teachers, retirees, and other social groups, society is in a polar confrontation for resolution.' The council emphasized that May 1st is an opportunity to declare 'no to the existing conditions' and strive for 'fundamental changes.' Twelve political prisoners in Evin Prison also wrote in a joint letter: 'Today, a great duty is manifesting before the working class of Iran; awareness of their position as a social class that has the responsibility to advance society towards achieving social justice, ending exploitation, oppression, and all forms of discrimination, especially gender and ethnic discrimination, establishing political freedom, preventing environmental destruction, and stopping destructive regional wars.' This letter was signed by Nahid Taghavi, Farah Nasaji, Golrokh Iraei, Anisha Asadollahi, Hasti Amiri, Siamak Ebrahimi, Shahrokh Ahmadi, Mehran Raouf, Keyvan Mohtadi, Foad Fathi, Maziar Seyednejad, and Morteza Parvin. They also wrote: 'The time has come for the working class of Iran to rise in the field of these fateful struggles and reclaim its position.' The Coordination Council of Nurses' Protests also wrote: 'We nurses, who have our life essence sucked in hellish working environments in hospitals and are forced to work for little pay, declare on International Workers' Day: We will no longer submit to slavery.' 'Reforming tariff pricing and registering nursing services in the name of nurses, eliminating mandatory overtime, and correcting the remuneration related to overtime' are among the demands raised by this council. The Telegram channel 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality' also issued a statement referring to the political-economic conditions of Iranian society over the past century, the status of workers, and the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement in Iran, stating: 'The labor movement must not only actively participate in the current resistance of women, especially brave girls against the brutal repression of the Islamic Republic but must also take up the banner of this movement and fight against the ruling religious dictatorship from an anti-capitalist position to realize the demands of the people for freedom, welfare, and equality.' Protests against the death sentence for Tomaj Salehi have been held at gatherings of workers and retirees in Iran. Analyzing the causes of workers' problems and their persistence in discussions with Yadollah Samadi, you can see gatherings of retirees in Ahvaz and requests for the release of imprisoned workers in Iran. Summons of several labor activists in Sanandaj; the Ministry of Intelligence is preventing the holding of International Workers' Day ceremonies. Gatherings of workers at the 'Kaghaz Pars Tabiat Cellulose' factory in Shush on the eleventh day of their strike. The hunger strike of Narges Mohammadi continues in Evin; Narges Mohammadi expresses concern.