Request to expel representatives of the Islamic Republic government from the Governing Council of the International Labor Organization

Tuesday, June 17, 2022 – A group of labor activists, teachers, and trade unions, including the Iranian Teachers' Trade Union, have written an open letter to the delegates attending the 110th session of the International Labor Conference (currently being held in Switzerland) calling for the removal of the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Governing Board of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

This open letter, signed by nearly two thousand people around the world, condemns the "brutal repression of teachers and other trade union activists in Iran" and the "arrest of well-known trade union activists, teachers, and workers."

Referring to this open letter addressed to the International Labor Organization, Hadi Ghaemi, director of the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, said: "The Islamic Republic has been blatantly violating the basic principles of the International Labor Organization, including freedom of association and the right to assembly, for decades."

According to Hadi Ghaemi, "Iranian authorities are seeking membership in international institutions and seeking influence in them, while they have no particular commitment to implementing the most basic principles of these institutions. Now is the time for these organizations to hold their members accountable."

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize independent unions and organizations and constantly arrests and imprisons key figures of these unions and organizations on fabricated charges. The same procedure of filing cases, arresting, and imprisoning protesting workers and teachers, citizens who have taken to the streets to make their voices heard in the most peaceful way possible, is also being applied. All of these actions violate the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization, to which Iran is a signatory.

The Campaign for Human Rights in Iran expresses its full support for this open letter and the demands made in it. Among the demands of this letter are:

• Require the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately and unconditionally release all imprisoned teachers, union activists, and protesters, and to end the accusations and filing of cases against those arrested.
• Sending an international delegation to Iran, in coordination with the Working Group and the World Federations of Trade Unions, to examine the conditions of the workforce in Iran and meet with independent trade unions and with imprisoned trade union activists and their families.
• Removal of representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Governing Board of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
• Requesting delegates present at the conference to convey their protest to Iranian delegates regarding the repression of independent labor unions and their members by government forces and the repeated and blatant violations of the right to freedom of association and peaceful demonstration.

The letter, noting that the arrest and imprisonment of many members of the Teachers' Union, the Tehran Bus Workers' Union, and other independent trade union organizations was solely due to their legal labor and trade union activities, lists activists who should be released immediately and unconditionally, including Ismail Abdi, who must serve another 10 years in prison despite completing his sentence, and Hashem Khastar, who has been in prison for years without leave despite his illness and advanced age.

The letter also emphasizes that Iran's independent labor unions have no representatives at the International Labor Conference, and that the individuals who are present at the conference as representatives of "labor unions" in Iran are in fact selected and supported by the government of the Islamic Republic.

The violation of the right to freedom of association and assembly by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not only contrary to the obligations arising from the treaties of the International Labor Organization (ILO), but also violates Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which recognizes freedom of association and assembly and to which Iran is a signatory. According to Article 9 of the Iranian Civil Code, the validity of international conventions to which Iran has acceded is equivalent to the domestic laws of the country.

The government’s actions against labor activists and teachers and its handling of union protests also violate Iran’s domestic laws; Article 26 of the Iranian Constitution protects freedom of association, and Article 27 of the Constitution recognizes the right to peaceful assembly. However, the illegal requirement for protesters to obtain permits to assemble and march gives government officials the opportunity to violate not only the legal and fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization, but also the fundamental rights of Iranians.

The full text of the open letter from the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions and civil and union activists is as follows:

We, the signatories of this letter, address the delegations participating in the 110th Session of the International Labor Organization, especially the labor-union delegations, and draw their attention to the recent repression against teachers and their representatives in trade union centers and labor-union activists in Iran.

Over the past years, especially in recent months, the Iranian government’s economic policies have created widespread poverty and misery for the general public, especially wage earners and workers. This has created a wide class gap and reduced the livelihood of the general public, ultimately leading to public protests. It is unfortunate that instead of responding appropriately and solving the problems, they have reacted harshly to these legitimate protests, and their response has been nothing but widespread repression. One of the various aspects of this repression has been the attacks and arrests of well-known union activists, teachers, workers, and many protesting workers. Recently, a “pseudo-report” was broadcast on the state-run Iranian Broadcasting Corporation (IRBC) in a false and fabricated scenario against well-known teacher and worker activists who are legal and accepted representatives of their unions. In this “pseudo-report,” in a desperate and blatant attempt, an attempt was made to accuse Iranian trade union activists of collaborating with foreign “spies.” The publication of this government-made scenario against trade union activists was immediately met with a wave of protest and disgust throughout Iran.

We call on the delegations participating in this meeting to condemn the Iranian government’s increasing violations of the rights of workers and teachers, especially the right to independent association and the right to peaceful demonstration. This violation of obvious rights is an urgent matter because since May 11, International Workers’ Day, a number of trade union activists and protestors have been arrested, interrogated, and accused of serious but completely unfounded charges such as acts against national security, simply because the Iranian government wants to silence the independent labor and trade union movement in Iran and the legitimate protests of the working and oppressed people. Violations of obvious and basic labor and trade union rights are being carried out by the Iranian government, while this government is a member of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization.

A large number of members of teachers’ unions, members of the Vahed Company workers’ union, as well as members of other independent labor and trade union organizations, as well as protesters, have been arrested, detained, and interrogated in recent months and days for their legitimate and legal labor and trade union activities. We call on the delegations participating in the summit to condemn the Iranian government’s repression of independent labor and trade union organizations and their members. We call on the delegates to the International Labor Conference to express their protest against these repressive measures to the Iranian government delegations present at the conference and to call on the Iranian government to take the necessary measures to immediately and unconditionally release all arrested teachers, detained labor activists, and detained protesters, and to end the repression of workers and independent labor and trade union organizations, and to respect the fundamental right to freedom of association and trade union organization in accordance with International Conventions 98 and 87 and the “Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work,” and to observe and implement these rights. It is important to emphasize that, unfortunately, independent Iranian labor unions are not represented at the International Labor Conference, and the representatives of the participating “labor unions” from Iran are state-sponsored.

The Iranian government must immediately and unconditionally release all imprisoned teachers and activists of independent labor organizations who have been arrested since International Workers' Day: Rasoul Badaghi, Eskandar Lotfi, Reza Shahabi, Jafar Ebrahimi, Hassan Saeedi, Anisha Asadollahi, Reyhaneh Ansarinejad, Mohammad Habibi, Keyvan Mohtadi, Shaban Mohammadi, Masoud Nikkhah, Reza Amanifar, Hadi Sadeghzadeh, Mohammad Alishundi, Asghar Amirzadegan, Mehrdad Yaghmaei, Afshin Razmjoo, Gholamreza Gholami-Kandazi, Hamid Abbasi, Abdolrazaq Amiri, Mohammad Ali Zhamtekesh, Mohsen Bahrami, Morteza Mohammadi, and many others, such as Hashem Khastar, who has been in prison for years and, despite his illness and advanced age, is not even given medical leave. In addition, we strongly demand an end to the imprisonment and harassment of other union and labor activists who are serving their sentences, including the imprisoned teacher. Esmael Abdi, who after completing a 6-year prison term is now serving another 10-year prison term, for which he was charged in 2008, and Hashem Khastar, who has been in prison for years and is not even given sick leave despite his illness and old age. Also, the sentences and charges against female teachers who are already in prison for protesting the government's educational policies should be overturned and they should be released immediately, including: Zeinab Hamrang, Alia Aghdam Doost, Haleh Safarzadeh, Nahid Fath-Alian, Nosrat Beheshti, Masoumeh Askari, and Mojgan Bagheri.

We, the signatories of this letter, also specifically request the labor delegations participating in the annual session of the International Labor Organization to specifically include the following urgent items on the agenda of the session and urge them to make every effort to adopt and implement them:

A) Immediate and unconditional dismissal of all charges against all union activists imprisoned in Iran and the release of all those arrested.

b) Obliging the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of workers, teachers, and wage earners in the areas of freedom to form or join independent trade unions and labor organizations, respect and observe the right to freedom of expression, and the right to peaceful assembly without fear of interference from security forces.

c) Review and take action on sending an international delegation under the coordination of the ILO Labor Group and international trade union federations to examine the conditions of the workforce in Iran, meet with independent trade union organizations, and visit imprisoned trade union activists in Iran and their families.

d) Demand the expulsion of the representatives of the Iranian government from the Board of Directors of the International Labor Organization and the failure to support their re-election to this Board due to the continuous violation of international conventions and the lack of accountability for the continuous repression of union and trade union organizations and activists in Iran.

Source: Human Rights Campaign