Second letter of Iran Khodro workers to the ILO
Iran Khodro workers' protest against the presence of Iran's representatives at the International Labour Conference
Dear Director-General, Juan Somavia,
In the present age, which has been called the age of communications, we workers are deprived of having any independent and free workers' papers. In the age of the Internet, we workers are deprived of free access to the Internet and the mass media.
Dear Director-General,
How are we workers to comprehend the meaning of law? We ask your Excellency to define what law is. Are the right to have a free workers' organisation, or taking part in a strike and becoming a member of trade unions part of the laws of the International Labour Organisation or not? What is the philosophy underlying the foundation of this organisation? And what is the purpose of the conventions that this organisation has ratified? Because we have no free newspaper or journal, we are therefore not aware of these laws. However, we would like to ask your Excellency what is the purpose of the International Labour Conference which has now been convened? And what kind of people are allowed to attend it? Are its doors open to anyone? Can anyone who can get there take part in it? Our question is: are the participants of this conference supposed to respect its laws or not? Is this not a requirement? Every year we witness representatives from our country attending, but they are not our - the workers' -representatives. This is because we workers are deprived of any type of organisation. In our country there exist no types of workers' independent organisations. The founding of a trade union is illegal, founding a union is a crime, and being active in workers' councils is also a crime. So how do these representatives get elected every year and then attend the ILC with your Excellency's approval. Does the ILO not have objections about these representatives' presence?
Your Excellency,
We workers think that the ILO is neglecting its duties, because it has turned a blind eye to all the facts. Every day dozens of cases of the violation of our rights take place but the ILO never protests against them. The workers are deprived of their most basic human rights, which are having free and independent workers' organisations, the right to protest against the inhuman and illegal regulations. Every day dozens of people are sacked for the crime of going on strike so that they can get their rights. Every year dozens of workers are laid off from work with the excuse of lack of discipline. Every year the workers are passed on from one contractor to another contractor, effectively they are sold like slaves, yet your organisation never protests about these abuses. We, the workers of Iran Khodro, who number over 35,000, ask your Excellency to question these so-called workers' representatives of ours how they were elected to represent us? Even the workers of Iran do not know who you are, what your name is and where you have come from. While the workers remain deprived of electing their representatives, you should ask these representatives why founding any type of organisation is illegal in Iran? Why does Iran Khodro, which employs over 35,000 workers, have no workers' organisation? Why?!
Your Excellency, how long must we workers be deprived of our own organisations? Until when must we be sacked for the crime of going on strike? How long must we witness job insecurity?
Every year dozens of our workmates are sacked for the crime of taking steps to found workers' organisations. Every year dozens of our workmates are sacked for the crime of protesting against their working conditions and going on strike. An example of this was the firing of over 50 striking workers on 8 March 2006. Your Excellency, we, the workers of Iran Khodro, consider the presence of the representatives of the Iranian government [at the Conference] as illegal and, for the reasons of openly flouting the regulations of the ILO and violating our inalienable rights, demand that these representatives be ejected from the International Labour Conference!
For the reasons of preventing the founding of any kind of independent workers' organisation; preventing workers' participation in independent organisations; banning any type of workers' strike or protest; banning and preventing any type of workers' gathering or demonstration; preventing the free participation of workers in commemorating International Labour Day; not abiding by permanent contracts and collective agreements; not observing health and safety standards in the workplace; suppressing, arresting and imprisoning workers for the crime of going on striking and taking action with the aim of founding workers' organisations; endangering the economic security and job security of workers by using contract workers; and preventing the publication of an independent paper and shutting down workers' websites.
Finally, we, the workers of Iran Khodro, demand that our sacked workmates and all other sacked workers, especially the Vahed Bus Company workers, are allowed to return to work.
We demand an end to the firing of workers for the crime of going on strike and protesting.
We demand the right to found our own independent workers' organisations.
We demand an end to the repression of protesting workers and the immediate release of Mansour Ossalou, the imprisoned leader of Vahed Bus Company workers.
A group of Iran Khodro workers
3 June 2006
Copy to: The General Secretary of the ICFTU.