Several Participants in International Workers' Day Events Arrested in Tehran and Saqqez

Reports indicate that several participants in two gatherings held in Tehran and Saqqez on the occasion of International Workers' Day, May 1, were arrested. According to the Free Workers' Union of Iran, at least seven individuals were detained by security and law enforcement agents during a gathering that took place on Tuesday, April 30, in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Meanwhile, the ILNA news agency reported that six individuals were arrested at this gathering. The event was called by the Coalition of Retirees and five independent labor organizations. The Painters' Union of Alborz Province, the Workers' Rights Defenders Association, the Association of Electrical and Metal Workers of Kermanshah, the Free Workers' Union of Iran, and the Committee for the Follow-up of Labor Organization Formation in Iran were the five organizations that called for this gathering. They had previously stated in a joint declaration, referring to the prohibition of strikes and the formation of independent labor organizations: 'Conditions have arisen where wages are paid four times below the poverty line in most production and industrial centers, with months of delays and through the force of continuous workers' protests.' The declaration also criticized the ongoing privatization or allocation of production units, stating that this has led to the closure of production units. However, the government of Hassan Rouhani has repeatedly emphasized the continuation of privatization policies, deeming it the only way to create employment. These labor organizations, in part of their statement, attributed unemployment, prostitution, addiction, child labor, kidney selling, homelessness, street vending, theft, and other social disasters to the policies of recent decades in Iran. The Free Workers' Union of Iran, the Association of Electrical and Metal Workers of Kermanshah, the Painters' Union of Alborz Province, the Workers' Rights Defenders Association, and the Committee for the Follow-up of Labor Organization Formation in Iran concluded from the current conditions that they should no longer hope for anything other than engaging in nationwide protests and united action to free themselves from what they termed the 'hellish situation.' Meanwhile, Mahmoud Salehi, a labor activist in Saqqez, Kurdistan, reported on Tuesday via social media channels belonging to labor organizations that following a gathering in 'Chami Vali Khan' square in this city, 'plainclothes forces attacked the workers, and after an hour of clashes, several workers, including Osman Ismaili, a painter and labor activist, were arrested.' Mr. Ismaili had recently been tried after his release from prison for allegedly interviewing foreign media. According to this report, Mr. Salehi mentioned that he himself was 'injured on the hand.' Meanwhile, official representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran have not reacted to the news of the arrests in Tehran and Saqqez. The government's refusal to issue a permit for the Workers' House march led hundreds of workers to gather in front of the office of this organization. The refusal to grant permission occurred while, according to ILNA, Hassan Sadeghi, the deputy secretary-general of the Workers' House, stated on March 14 that it should not be allowed that 'the reins of the Workers' House marches slip from our hands,' adding: 'Certainly, some will enter to create disturbances, and we must be aware of them.' This member of the Workers' House stated that 'everyone should be able to hold the Workers' Day march in cooperation with official security and executive institutions,' saying: 'If we are not vigilant, they will throw us against the wall.' Two days before the government refused to issue a permit for the Workers' House march, Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, stated: 'In no period have workers been allowed to march, but in the government of hope and prudence, we have seen workers marching.' According to ILNA, Hassan Sadeghi criticized the refusal to grant a permit for the International Workers' Day march during the gathering on Tuesday in front of the Workers' House, saying: 'Some workers intended to march towards the Ministry of Health so that the billionaire health minister would take his hand out of the workers' pockets.' His reference was to the approval of paragraph 'Z' of the seventh clause of the 2018 budget bill. According to this clause, 'the share of treatment from the total basis of deducting insurance premiums at the Treasury will be concentrated under the title of social security treatment.' This clause was approved at a time when, according to reports, labor and employer members of the Supreme Labor Council noted on February 19 that 'for many years, governments in Iran have avoided depositing their three percent share into the social security fund.' In this context, Hassan Sadeghi, in part of his speech on Tuesday, called for the repeal of this resolution, pointing out that 'over 146 trillion tomans of social security claims from the government have not been settled to date.' According to ILNA, a group of workers marched from in front of the Workers' House towards Republic Street after the gathering. They held placards reading 'The workers' table is still empty' and 'Increasing free zones; increasing workers' unemployment.' This group of workers chanted slogans including 'Long live the worker, death to the oppressor,' 'We do not want an incompetent minister,' and 'Foreign workers must be expelled.' Meanwhile, reports from social media indicate that International Workers' Day events were held at Azadi Terminal in Tehran by a number of workers and labor activists. Previously, the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, the Coalition of Retirees, and the Coordination Committee for Helping to Establish Labor Organizations issued a statement on the occasion of May 1, criticizing the 'decline in the living conditions of workers and wage earners compared to the past, wages several times below the poverty line, non-payment of workers' wages for several months, and widespread layoffs and unemployment.' 'Widespread corruption in government agencies, monetization of education in schools and universities, runaway inflation and rising prices, incorrect environmental policies, and neglect of the demands of workers, teachers, nurses, and retirees' were other issues criticized by these organizations. These four labor and professional organizations considered 'the organization of workers and wage earners and nationwide unity against the oppression imposed on them' as 'the only way to change the unbearable current conditions.' They demanded 'setting the minimum wage for workers above the poverty line, that is, five million tomans, timely payment of wages, adequate unemployment benefits for the unemployed, setting retirees' pensions at five million tomans, providing complete and effective social insurance, and allowing elected representatives of retirees to oversee pension funds and participate in their management.' Other demands included the abolition of temporary and blank-signed contracts, the elimination of contracting and intermediary companies, ensuring that all workers are fully covered by labor laws, immediate implementation of insurance for construction workers, the right to form independent unions and organizations, halting the dismissal and prosecution of workers, teachers, and other labor activists, the release of imprisoned workers and teachers, and the freedom to strike, march, protest, assemble, express opinions, and speak.