a écrit :* Defend striking bus workers of Tehran!
Up to 700 workers arrested
Bahram Soroush
Hundreds of striking bus workers of the state-owned Vahed bus company are still in
detention in Tehran today, 30th January, following the vicious attack by thousands
of members of the security forces on their strike last Saturday.
The exact number of the detainees is still unknown. Anywhere from 500 to 700 workers
may have been arrested - according to union officials speaking on foreign-based
radio stations. Further arrests have been reported today, with pressure being put on
the detained workers to sign pledges to give up their fight or risk losing their
jobs. In a statement issued today, the bus workers' union has called for a stoppage
on 3rd February.
The arrests started on Friday 27th January, the eve of the strike, during police
raids on the homes of the strikers and union leaders. The management of the company
and the Islamic Council (handmade organisations of the regime in the workplaces)
worked hand in hand with the security forces to help identify the workers and assist
in the arrests.
On Saturday, as the workers arrived at the picket lines, they were rounded up. Many
were verbally abused, threatened and beaten up to force them to drive the buses.
Those who refused were taken away. Some buses had been moved the night before, and
replacement drivers had been enlisted from among the military and mercenary Baseej
militia.
'Indescribable brutality'
Union officials said the brutality of the security forces was indescribable. The
wives and children of some union executive members were also arrested. They were
taken out of bed and beaten up during raids on Friday night. The beatings continued
in detention. 2-year-old daughter of Yaghoub Salimi, substitute member of the
union's executive board, was injured on her face in the attack, when she was thrown
into a waiting patrol van. Her 12-year-old elder sister, Mahdiye, described the
ordeal in detail in an interview yesterday with a radio station abroad.
She said they raided their home while they were asleep, pulled away the blankets and
started hitting them with their "hands and feet". They used their boots to kick
their mother "around the heart" and Mrs Razavi too was badly beaten up. They tried
to spray her sister in the face. Her mother still bears the bruises from the
beatings she received.
Yaghoub Salimi gave a last interview to a radio station shortly before turning
himself in. This was the condition for the release of his wife and children, who
were being used as hostages.
The majority of the detainees are now in the high security Evin Prison, along with
seven members of the union's executive, including the leader of the union Mansoor
Ossanlou. This prison is notorious for being the centre for the jailing, torture and
execution of thousands of political prisoners.
'Even greater resolve and unity'
In a letter to world labour and progressive organisations, issued on Saturday, the
union said that in the light of what the Islamic Republic regime had done, they had
no option but to continue their fight with even greater resolve and unity. It
thanked international labour and progressive organisations for their solidarity so
far and appealed for continued support:
"We ask you our colleagues and fellow workers throughout the world . to condemn this
action of the Iranian state. We trust that you will call for the immediate and
unconditional release of all the detainees, for the recognition of our union and for
the meeting of our demands. We expect that you will condemn the assault on our
strike and demand the prosecution and punishment of all those who stormed workers'
picket lines.. We have a hard and long battle ahead of us and urge you to continue
your support".
The Worker-communist Party of Iran (WPI) has called for a powerful and immediate
response to the bus workers' appeal by all possible means.
A hard and long battle
The strike has had the overwhelming backing of the 17,000 employees of the
state-owned company, who have been battling the management and authorities since
last year. Their demands include a decent pay increase, introduction of collectively
negotiated agreements and recognition of their union. Since the arrest of the
leaders of the union, the bus workers have been fighting for their release too. The
head of the union, Ossanlou, has been in jail for over five weeks.
The present protest was triggered when on 22nd December a dozen members of the
Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat e Vahed) were
arrested in armed police raids on their homes. The arrests led to a powerful strike
on Sunday 25 December, widely supported by the people of the capital. Further
arrests were made during the strike itself. In all, around 40 workers were detained.
However, the workers succeeded in securing the release of all but Ossanlou.
The fight for the release of Ossanlou and all the original demands continued. In the
meantime the workers were subjected to all kinds of harassment - from unpaid
salaries and frozen bank accounts to direct threats made to individual activists by
the Intelligence Ministry. Negotiations with the Mayor, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf,
produced no results; all the demands remained unmet. Ghalibaf asked for 15 days by
which time to respond. The deadline passed without any action.
On 7th January the bus workers held a day of action by putting up a poster on their
screens with the words 'Mansoor Ossanlou must be released' and drove their buses
with their lights on all day.
Meanwhile, concerns grew about Mansoor Ossanlou's health, in particular the
condition of one of his eyes, as he was due to be operated on before being arrested.
He sustained the damage to his eye during a vicious attack in May 2005 on a meeting
of the bus workers' union by vigilante thugs of the Government-set up and run
"Islamic Councils of Labour" and "Workers' House". Dissolution of these mercenary
organisations has been a key demand of the workers throughout.
As the workers called for an all-out strike on Saturday 28th January, six more
members of the union's executive were summoned, questioned and then arrested. The
government issued further threats and prepared to crush the strike.
A fight for all workers in Iran
The brave bus workers of Tehran are leading a fight that concerns all the workers in
Iran. Their demands - the right to organise freely and independently of the state,
dissolution of the hated Islamic Councils, introduction of collective bargaining and
a substantial increase in the minimum wage (to US 600) - are the demands of all
Iranian workers. The bus workers have put these demands high up on the banner of the
whole labour movement in Iran. Despite coming under such a vicious and overwhelming
attack, the strike has already shaken up the regime. Indeed the sheer scale of the
Islamic regime's reaction was an indication, not of its power and stability, but,
rather, of its fear and vulnerability. The bus workers' struggle is the prelude to
more decisive battles to come.
All the detained workers must be immediately freed. The Islamic Republic must be
condemned for this outrageous attack. Islamic councils - as anti-labour
government-set up and run bodies in the workplaces - must be thrown out of the
International Labour Organisation (ILO). The bus workers' union (Syndicate) must be
recognised. All the workers' demands must be met.
Support the Tehran bus workers! Send you protest letters to Ahmadinejad, the
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran at [url=mailto:dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir]dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir[/url]. A Tehran
Bus Workers' Strike Fund has also been set up in aid of the bus workers and their
families. Please make urgently-needed donations (see the announcement in this
issue).
Please forward copies of protest letters and notify us of any donations to the
International Labour Solidarity Committee of the Worker-communist Party of Iran,
Co-ordinator: Shahla Daneshfar ([url=mailto:shahla_daneshfar@yahoo.com]shahla_daneshfar@yahoo.com[/url]) and Public Relations:
Bahram Soroush ([url=mailto:b.soroush@ukonline.co.uk]b.soroush@ukonline.co.uk[/url]) so that they may be brought to the
attention of the workers and people of Iran. All donations will be individually
acknowledged.
* Support Tehran Bus Workers' Strike Fund
The bus workers' all-out strike in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday 28th January was
viciously attacked by the Iranian regime's security forces. Hundreds of workers have
been arrested. In a letter issued on the same day, the bus workers' union appeals to
labour and progressive organisations of the world for support. A strike fund has now
been set up in aid of the bus workers and their families. Please make
urgently-needed donations to any of the following bank accounts and notify us at the
same. All contributions will be individually acknowledged. More bank accounts are to
be announced soon. Please contact the International Labour Solidarity Committee of
the Worker-communist Party of Iran for further information.
England:
Account no: 49606174
Sort code: 60 07 38
Bank: NatWest
Germany:
Hamid Rahimpour
Konto Nr11271061
BLZ 29050101
Sparkasse
Sweden:
Konto nr: 400 11 845 429
Nordea Bank
Holland:
Bahman Khani
Bank rekening: 7299850
Postbank, Eindhoven
