To Mr Terje Nustad
President of
The Federation of Oil Workers Trade Unions in Norway
(OFS)
7/1/05
Dear Sir
It is my pleasure to inform you that the strike by the textile workers in the city of Sanandaj came to a successful conclusion yesterday, Wednesday 6th Jan. The management and the government agreed with most of the workers’ demands.
Let me express my sincere thanks to you for your support for the strike, as well as the gratitude that has been expressed by the workers in Sanandaj and other cities in Iran. Your support was crucial in the victory of the strike and I hope this labour solidarity can be taken even further in the future. The strike lasted for 16 days, and the workers did not abandon their fight despite the threats of dismissal and arrest by the management and the security forces. The key points of the agreement between the workers’ representatives, on the one hand, and the management and Labour Ministry, on the other, were as follows:
1- Redundancies by the management to be stopped. Redundancies may only take place with the agreement of a commission composed of workers’ representatives and representatives of the management, the provincial governor, labour ministry and the ‘adjudication board’ (that is another official body).
2- For contract workers, contracts to be extended to six-monthly contracts, instead of the current three-monthly.
3- Workplace health and safety to be reviewed.
4- Wages to be paid immediately. The Labour Ministry also undertook to pay the wages due for the 16 strike days.
5- The demand for a canteen and one hot meal per day was not accepted. However, it was agreed to double the small monthly dinner allowance from 15,000 to 30,000 Rials and to provide milk and cake.
6- The demand for the reinstatement of the six sacked workers was not accepted. However, a redundancy pay was agreed equivalent to three months’ wages for each worked year plus allowances.
7- A committee for job grading (‘job classification plan’) to be formed; the underpayments from the previous years also to be paid.
During the five-hour long negotiations, various other government officials, including an Information Ministry official, who refused to identify himself, were also present.
The achievements of this strike go further than the demands above. This was a small but important victory. It pushed not only the textile workers in Sanandaj but the whole labour movement in Iran forward one more step. Once again let me express my thanks to you for your concern for and solidarity with the struggle of the workers in Iran.
Yours sincerely,
Kazem Nik-Khah
Secretary,
Worker-communist Party of Iran – Organisation Abroad