{"id":1913,"date":"2022-11-30T16:50:14","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2022-11-30T16:59:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:59:21","slug":"at-least-a-dozen-labor-leaders-arrested-in-effort-to-crush-strikes-islamic-republic-should-be-expelled-from-ilo-governing-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=1913","title":{"rendered":"At Least a Dozen Labor Leaders Arrested in Effort to Crush Strikes Islamic Republic Should Be Expelled from ILO Governing Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 29, 2022 \u2013 More than three months into anti-state protests across Iran that state security forces have been unable to crush despite the use of lethal force, oil workers, truckers, public transportation workers, and factory workers are joining other labor groups now waging strikes across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese workers are the backbone of the Iranian economy,\u201d said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). \u201cThe fact that so many workers are striking even while labor leaders are among the thousands who\u2019ve been arrested since September speaks to the level of discontent against the government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While strikers\u2019 demands have primarily focused on the longstanding issue of unpaid wages, chants of \u201cDeath to the dictator\u201d can be heard in video footage of truck drivers on strike at the Akbarabad Terminal in Tehran on November 22, echoing the anti-state slogans that have characterized the ongoing protests in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity with Iran\u2019s Protest Movement Expressed by Strikers<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 23, 2022, the Union of Truck Owners and Drivers of Iran issued a statement calling for nationwide strikes as of November 26 to protest the government\u2019s lack of response to the problems facing its members.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we ignore the plight of our innocent colleagues and other people in Kurdistan, Baluchistan and Izeh and other blood-stained cities?\u201d said the statement, referring to the ongoing lethal state crackdown on protests in multiple provinces, in which security forces have killed at least 451 people, including women and children, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe strikers, who along with the young women and men who have been protesting against the Islamic Republic\u2019s tyranny, have shown incredible bravery in the face of the state\u2019s ongoing violence, and they require meaningful international solidarity,\u201d said Ghaemi.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes ejecting the government of Iran from the International Labor Organization\u2019s (ILO) governing board, and expelling the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as Islamic Republic security forces continue to gun down peaceful protesters and throw labor leaders behind bars, governments around the world should employ all diplomatic means of condemnation,\u201d Ghaemi said, \u201cincluding recalling ambassadors for consultations and summoning Iran\u2019s diplomats for censure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Since mid-September, when the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in Iranian state custody sparked nationwide anti-state protests, strikes have occurred in the following industries according to social media postings by Iranian labor rights groups:<\/span><\/p>\n

Oil and Gas<\/span><\/p>\n

Trucking<\/span><\/p>\n

Public Transportation<\/span><\/p>\n

Auto Manufacturing<\/span><\/p>\n

Steel Manufacturing<\/span><\/p>\n

Home Appliance Manufacturing<\/span><\/p>\n

Petrochemical<\/span><\/p>\n

Food and Snack Manufacturing<\/span><\/p>\n

November saw an uptick in labor strikes, with at least 20 reported in cities across at least 12 of Iran\u2019s 31 provinces, including Tehran; Yazd; Kerhmanshah; Kurdistan; Isfahan; Hormozgan; Fars; Khuzestan; Bushehr; Qazvin; Alborz; and East Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Article 27 of Iran\u2019s Constitution, \u201cPublic gatherings and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet peaceful labor activism is treated as a national security offense in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where independent labor unions are not recognized, strikers are often fired and risk arrest, and labor leaders are prosecuted under catchall national security charges and sentenced to long prison terms. These actions are all in profound violation of the ILO\u2019s Fundamental Principles.<\/span><\/p>\n

While it is unknown how many laborers have been arrested in total, at least 12 labor rights activists have been arrested since September, according to research by CHRI:<\/span><\/p>\n

Davoud Razavi \u2013 Tehran<\/span><\/p>\n

Erfan Kahzad- Karaj<\/span><\/p>\n

Neda Naji \u2013 Tehran<\/span><\/p>\n

Abed Tavancheh \u2013 Tehran<\/span><\/p>\n

Mozaffar Salehnia \u2013 Sanandaj<\/span><\/p>\n

Lotfollah Ahmadi -Sanandaj<\/span><\/p>\n

Zanyar Dabbaghian \u2013 Sanandaj<\/span><\/p>\n

Khabat Dehdar \u2013 Sanandaj<\/span><\/p>\n

Amir Chamani \u2013 Tabriz<\/span><\/p>\n

Hossein Koshi \u2013 Tabriz<\/span><\/p>\n

Kamran Sakhtemangar \u2013 Sanandaj<\/span><\/p>\n

Salah Zamani \u2013 Sanandaj<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, imprisoned labor activist Reza Shahabi was transferred from Evin Prison in Tehran to Imam Khomeini Hospital for spinal issues on November 27, according to the Free Workers Union of Iran\u2019s Telegram channel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The channel had previously reported on November 24 that imprisoned labor activist Nasrin Javadi, also in Evin, was suffering from severe influenza. It is not known whether she was allowed to receive proper medical treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Islamic Republic is making a mockery of the international institutions to which it belongs by violating every one of their most basic principles,\u201d said Ghaemi. \u201cTo maintain their credibility these institutions should take immediate action against the government of Iran.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

November 29, 2022 \u2013 More than three months into anti-state protests across Iran that state security forces have been unable to crush despite the use of lethal force, oil workers,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[551,375],"class_list":["post-1913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","tag-iran-protest-22","tag-iran-protests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1913"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1914,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913\/revisions\/1914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}