Suppression of union activists continues; bus drivers banned from giving interviews to foreign media
The Tehran Bus Company, after obtaining a commitment from the drivers, only allowed them to give interviews to "regime-approved" media outlets.
The Tehran Branch Company Workers' Union reported on Tuesday, November 11, that the company's security agency had "threatened and pressured" the drivers and forced them to sign, preventing them from giving interviews to journalists.
The union described the Tehran Branch's action as "covering up the poor performance" of the company's management.
The deputy director of transportation and traffic at Tehran Municipality also denied that drivers of the Vahed company are banned from giving interviews, but said that "drivers are only allowed to give interviews to domestic media outlets approved by the regime."
Drivers of the Tehran Bus Company, especially members of the company's union, have repeatedly participated in labor protests and have made their union problems public.
These restrictions on the company's drivers come at a time when the drivers' protests have repeatedly faced security and judicial confrontations. Reza Shahabi, a labor activist and board member of the Tehran Bus Company Workers' Union, is among those summoned to the Evin Prosecutor's Office on October 10 of this year.
The US State Department has said that the Islamic Republic regime could have paid the salaries of workers in Iran with the money it has spent in Syria.
Source: Voice of America
