Current State of Vahed Workers Syndicate and its Members and the Situation with State Sponsored Labor Organizations in Iran

Iran Labor Report

On the eve of the 102nd session of the International Labour Organization in June, Vahed Bus Workers Syndicate has released a statement on the current state of the Syndicate and its Members as well as the situation of the state-sponsored labor organizations in Iran. The text of the statement reads as follows.

During the past year, Vahed Workers Syndicate, relying on its membership, organized several protests for gaining Vahed workers rights and benefits.

Among these were physical protests at Tehran Municipality and Labor Ministry as well as at North West Labor Offices. These protests were planned in numerous Syndicate meetings with the participation and joint decisions of workers, drivers and members of the Syndicate directors, the result of which were the 18 percent increase in wages and increase in housing subsidies of up to 100 percent. During these protests, three active Syndicate members, Hassan Saeedi, Nasser Moharamzadeh and Vahid Fereidouni were illegally fired from their jobs through frame-ups by Islamic Labor Council members and Vahed management and security with the participation of Labor Ministry operatives who are influential in Arbitration Board and general operate under the auspices of the Labor Ministry. The sole base for the firings have been the membership in Vahed Syndicate. They are currently awaiting the ruling by the Court of Administrative Justice. While several workers representatives in the Arbitration Board have not approved the firing of the said workers, their ruling in the Arbitration Board for firings have been passed.

Two of the protests by Vahed Workers Syndicate in the past year have been on general workers demands pursued by the Vahed Syndicate.

These are: 1- A petition against the anti-labor amendments to the Labor Law that was to be approved in the parliament. More than 2000 signatures for withdrawal of this anti-labor bill by the workers and drivers at Vahed were gathered and registered with the Ministry of Labor and consequently registered with the Islamic Parliament with the cooperation of a group of Syndicate workers and drivers members. According to an official letter sent to one of the members of the Vahed Syndicate by the parliament, it was promised to be reviewed and the anti-labor bill was withdrawn. It has to be noted that other labor organizations have also been protesting this amendment bill and have gathered petitions against this anti-labor bill.

2- Protests on fixing a just minimum wage for 2013 in which Vahed Syndicate gathered other petitions and registered with the Ministry of Labor, Cooperatives and Social Security as well as a protest gathering at the Ministry by Vahed drivers, the majority of the whom were the Syndicate members. These protests are ongoing.

Current State of Vahed Workers Syndicate

As you know, Vahed Workers Syndicate is operating under security and suppressive atmosphere. Employer operatives and security as well as Islamic Labor Councils who are supposedly officially representing the Vahed workers enjoy the support and cooperation of police and security forces and with these at hand can prevent Union activists activities at any time. They can even arrest them and enjoy means above the law and constantly call in the Vahed Syndicate workers to the security in Vahed, putting them under pressure.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Labor, Cooperatives and Social Security which participates in the annual meetings of ILO condones the wide spread and one sided expulsions and pressures on the drivers and workers at Vahed. Considering different meetings and letters written by the Syndicate members to the Ministry of Labor officials, not only they have done nothing in helping and reinstatement of the Syndicate drivers but have also condoned these actions. Considering wide spread rigging in election of Islamic Labor Council membership in Vahed Company and given the documents deliverd to the Ministry of Labor, Cooperatives and Social Security by Syndicate representatives and Labor Offices, unfortunately, a strong determination is at hand which does not want the Vahed Worker Syndicate to continue operations.

Currently, despite all pressures, Vahed Syndicate is continuing with its activities and despite the intelligence operatives deny the Syndicate to hold regular offices or space for holding the meetings, the Syndicate meetings are regularly being held at personal homes of the workers and all decisions and protest actions of the Vahed workers are decided in the same workers houses and in group decisions.

Vahed Workers Syndicate wants to hold its second congress. However, despite the decision of holding the congress has been made several years back, the intelligence operatives have been confronting the Syndicate.

One was the arrest of Ebrahim Madadi, the deputy head of the Syndicate resulting in his incarceration. Now, the Syndicate is investigating ways with least price for holding the congress. Reza Shahabi is another member of the directorate of the Vahed Workers Syndicate who has been sentenced to six years by the revolutionary court as well as five years ban in union activity and 7 million in bail in which three years of the sentence has already been passed.

He was recently released for treatment of injuries resulting from his arrest and 19 months of illegal captivity in ward 209 solitary confinement. Following few months and while his treatment not being finished, he was again returned to Evin prison. He was greeted and supported by a number of Vahed Syndicate workers and drivers to Evin.

The release, treatment and return back of Reza Shahabi is among the main demands of Vahed Workers Syndicat from ILO.

The State of Vahed Workers Syndicate Members

1. Reza Shahabi, a member of directorate of the Syndicate is currently in Evin prison serving his six year term.

2- Hassan Saeedi, Nasser Moharamzadeh and Vahid Fereidouni, three members of the Syndicate have been expelled from their work because of their union activities and currently are facing difficult economic conditions. Their case is currently under review in the Court of Administrative Justice.

3- Akbar Pirhadi and Hassan Karimi, members of the directorate of the Syndicate and Hossein Karimi, an active member with the Syndicate have been fired since more than six years ago due to their union activities. They were able to receive reinstatement ruling by the Court of Administrative Justice after several years and returned to their work.

In an unprecedented move, however, by the Labor Offices which are under the Ministry of Labor, Cooperatives and Social Security, they were denied all their wages and past dues as well as social security rights.

Despite their pursuing, they have not been successful yet in gaining their rights. A number of Syndicate members also are routinely called in to the Vahed security, Vahed management and disciplinary committees and are threatened.

Syndicate Activities in 2013

Vahed Workers Syndicate held regular weekly meetings during the past month and made decisions on May Day, International Labor Day, the activities for this day follow:

1. Preparation and issue of a declaration on the occasion of International Labor Day.

2. Ordering a pen with May Day greetings inscribed on it as well as the name of the Vahed Workers Syndicate and distributing it as a gift to workers and drivers of Vahed with pastries at the bus terminals.

3. Preparing a placard with the emblem of the Syndicate with demonstration and rally with the placard at Azadi terminal on the occasion of May Day. Syndicate members along with some of the workers greeted workers and drivers at the terminals and congratulated them on this occasion.

4. Syndicate member meeting with child laborers who make up a part of the little members of the workers community . They celebrated the day at the Child Laborer Society offices with singing and distributing pastry.

The Condition of Workers Organizations in Iran

What we have observed on the condition of state sponsored organizations in Iran is that in practice the operation of organizations such as Islamic Labor Councils and Labor House is more party work and they cannot essentially be considered workers organizations.

They essentially are not independent at all and do not have any organizational independence. It is so that in new laws, their bylaws is written at the Ministry of Labor and their members do not have any say on the bylaws prepared. These organizations are essentially picked from above and thus are mostly in the service of employer and the state.

They are subservient and given the current situation and expediency, they trample upon workers rights and demands. They mostly look up to above rather than pay attention to the basic rights of the workers. They even prevent independent labor organizations from taking shape and in essence, with state means including intelligence operatives and use of courts, labor offices and Ministry of Labor suppress organizations such as syndicates and unions.

They use the labor force at their disposal for the benefit of state and employers. As an example, the attack on Vahed Workers Syndicate on May 9, 2005 took place with means such as police presence and high officials of Labor House and Islamic Labor Councils who had prepared the clamp done with cooperation of the employer and security at Vahed company.

Essentially the state of the labor community is an indication of the current state of the affairs of the state-sponsored organizations.

Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Workers Syndicate
May 2013