June 19, 2005

Mr. Seyed Mohammad Khatami, President

The Presidency,

Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

President Khatami:

The Vancouver and District Labour Council represents 124 unions with a combined membership of 65,000 unionized workers in the Greater Vancouver area, British Columbia, Canada.

I am writing to register our concern about the arrest and detention of an important labour activist in your country, Mr. Parviz Salarvand.  Mr. Salarvand, an employee of Iran Khodro car-manufacturing plant, is currently in prison.

We are informed that it is the intention of your government to put Mr. Salarvand on trial for "actions against national security" and "publication of illegal leaflets" for his labour activities on behalf of his fellow workers.

I would encourage you to reconsider that position.  The situation of Mr. Salarvand is being widely circulated on the Internet and many labour organizations, such as ours, will be watching these proceedings closely.  We have a great many concerns about the state of labour relations in your country and will be following events closely and acting accordingly.

It is our view that workers have the absolute right to organize and to bargain collectively on behalf of workers for better wages and working conditions.

These rights are enshrined in the various conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).  These Conventions are widely recognized as the global standard on labour issues and we would encourage your government to respect them.

Sincerely,

William Saunders,

President                                                                                                                                      cope15

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