Eight Vahed bus workers were arrested today
The news we have received from Tehran today, July 15, 2006, indicates
that at 9 AM the sacked Sherkat-e Vahed (Tehran urban bus company)
workers assembled in front of the Tehran Provincial Labour Office to
protest their situation and to follow up on their demand to go back to
work. They were fired in the wake of vahed workers’ strike 7 months ago,
which was brutally quelled by the regime. Amongst over 150 protesters
that came together in this organized protest action, the presence of
several family members of Vahed workers side by side with families of
workers from other labour branches was outstanding.
The regime’s forces of oppression, twice as many as the protesters,
were present on the spot before the protestors arrived. Despite the
presence of forces, among them Special Guards and The Security Force,
the workers and their families went on to gather and to cry out their
demands as planned. They were asked to introduce a group of
representatives in order to meet and negotiate with the Deputy Labour
Minister. So the workers sent in Ebrahim Madadi, Yaqub Salimi, Ebrahim
Gowhari, and Davud Razavi as their elected negotiators.
The rest of the workers and their families were then told by the
forces of the regime to leave and disperse, as their representatives
were now engaged in negotiations, and that they would be in great
trouble if they did not obey the order this time. The workers and their
families, however, did not heed the threats and kept their assembly.
Threats and pressures mounted continuously. After an hour or so the
workers were again ordered to leave, as their representatives “had
finished their business”. But, they remained unmoved. It was about 1 PM
that the protestors were finally dispersed and forced to leave, while
declaring loud and clear that they would continue to follow up on their
demand through future protest actions. Aside from attacking the workers,
the forces arrested five of them, by the names of Ata Babakhani, Naser
Qolami, Manuchehr Mahdavitabar, Seyed-Reza Ne’matipur, and Hosein
shahsavari. At the same time the news reached the crowd that their
representatives had also been arrested and transported to Base 8 of the
Ministry of Intelligence. The report we have received also indicates
that the orders have been issued by three judges of the regime for the
arrest of the entire board of directors of Vahed Trade Union.
We strongly condemn this latest attack on Vahed workers’ assembly,
and demand the immediate release of Mansur Osanlu, the chairman of Vahed
Trade Union, together with the eight workers arrested today, namely,
Messrs. Ebrahim Madadi, Yaqub Salimi, Ebrahim Gowhari, Hosein
Shahsavari, Ata Babakhani, Naser Qolami, Manuchehr Mehditabar, and
Seyed-Reza Ne’matipur
We call on all labour organizations throughout the world to protest
today’s attack on the assembly of Vahed workers and the detention of
five of them, as well as the orders for the arrest of the board of
directors of Vahed Union.
We campaign for the formation of an international labour solidarity
to support the struggles of Vahed and all other workers in Iran. We
struggle to pressurize the Islamic Republic to immediately and
unconditionally release Mansur Osanlu together with those arrested today
as well as all political prisoners in Iran.
Please support the workers in Iran through writing protest letters
and any other means you see fit.
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International Labour Solidarity Committee of the Worker-communist party
of Iran
Co-ordinator: Shahla Daneshfar (shahla_daneshfar@yahoo.com)
Public Relations: Bahram Soroush (b.soroush@ukonline.co.uk)
www.kargaran.org
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