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Solidarity Center February 15: Day of Action for Imprisoned

 
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:41 pm    Post subject: Solidarity Center February 15: Day of Action for Imprisoned Reply with quote





February 15: Day of Action for Imprisoned Iranian Bus Drivers

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http://www.solidaritycenter.org/content.asp?contentid=557

On February 15 at 12:00 noon, the Solidarity Center will join the global labor movement in an International Day of Action on Iran called for by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Workers all over the world will rally to demand the release of hundreds of imprisoned Iranian bus drivers, who were arrested after police brutally cracked down on a planned January 28 strike. The solidarity demonstration will be held in front of the Iranian Interest Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

The drivers, who belong to the 17,000-member Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), called the strike to protest the detention of union President Mansoor Osanloo and to demand that the government recognize their union. Osanloo and his entire executive board were arrested on December 22 during a union meeting. Police released the other leaders following a widely supported strike and pressure from international worker and human rights organizations, including the AFL-CIO. But Osanloo remains in prison, reportedly in fragile medical condition.

Managers at the Tehran Bus Company allegedly helped police identify hundreds of union sympathizers. On the eve of the called strike, police raided the homes of union leaders and activists, arresting workers, wives, and children. The two-year-old daughter of a union member bruised and cut her face when she was thrown into a patrol van. The next morning, as strikers arrived at the picket line, police rounded them up, using tear gas and batons and threatening to shoot the strikers. As many as 30 were hospitalized.

Although some prisoners have been freed, they have been denied the right to return to their jobs, and additional arrests continue. Hundreds of drivers are still in detention at Tehran?s Ervin Prison. They have not been charged and have no access to counsel.

"Iranian workers must be free to exercise their fundamental worker rights to join a union and to engage in collective bargaining as protected by international covenants,? said Solidarity Center Executive Director Barbara Shailor. ?The Solidarity Center joins the global labor movement in demanding that the Iranian government respect these rights and immediately release the detained union members."

The union is appealing for support from the Iranian people and the international labor movement to:

Release Osanloo and the remaining prisoners
Recognize the union
Respect workers? collective bargaining rights
Return all fired drivers to work unconditionally

Founded in 1968, Sherkat-e Vahed was active for only ten years before government authorities disbanded it. The independent union resurfaced in 2005, but the government refused to accept its application for recognition. The bus company has withheld drivers? wages and has fired, transferred, demoted, harassed, and interrogated union activists. Osanloo?s detention and the January 28 arrests are the latest in a series of escalating attacks that have included assaulting union leaders and torching the union office with Molotov cocktails.

As a member of the International Labor Organization, the Iranian government is obliged to comply with the principles of freedom of association, including the right to form and join unions, the right to bargain collectively, and the right to strike. Iran also has ratified the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 26 of Iran?s own constitution permits ?the formation of parties, societies, political or professional associations,? and Iran's labor law recognizes the right to strike.

"The detention of several hundred workers is an unacceptable response to workers cxercising their fundamenta1abor rights,? said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney in a letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadjinejad. ?The AFL-CIO strongly condemns the arrest of workers exercising their legitimate, internationally recognized trade union rights and demands the immediate and unconditional release of all detained trade unionists."

Act now! Send letters of support to:

Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadjinejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran

Fax: + 98-21-6648.06.65 or + 98 21 649 5880
E-mail: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir

Ambassador Mohammad Reza Alborzi
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Institutions in Geneva
Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28
1209 Geneva, Switzerland

Fax: +41 22 733 02 03
E-mail: mission.iran@ties.itu.int

Or send a letter online

Learn more

International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689

Letter from AFL-CIO President John Sweeney

Letter from ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder

Strike chronology

________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release
Contact: Cathy Feingold 202-778-4507

Solidarity Center Demands Release of Striking Iranian Bus Drivers

More than 500 Union Members Still in Prison After
Police Crackdown

Washington, DC, February 1, 2006—The Solidarity Center joins the global labor movement in calling for the release of more than 500 Iranian bus drivers, who are still in prison after police cracked down on a planned January 28 strike. The drivers are being held in Tehran’s Evin Prison. They have not been charged and have no access to counsel.

On January 28, 2006, the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), called the strike to protest the detention of union President Mansoor Osanloo and to demand that the government recognize their right to a union and to a collective bargaining agreement. In response, the government and public transportation company dispatched thousands of security and armed forces using tear gas, batons and threats to shoot the strikers. Hundreds have been arrested at their homes, including some spouses and children.

“Iranian workers must be free to exercise their fundamental worker rights to join a union and to engage in collective bargaining as protected by international covenants,” said Solidarity Center Executive Director Barbara Shailor. “The Solidarity Center joins the global labor movement in demanding that the Iranian government respect these rights and immediately release the detained union members.”

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