Behnam Khodadadi fired in the wake of his speech

Association of Electrical and Building Workers of Isfahan reports:

Behnam Khodadadi labor activist and member of the Association of Electrical and Building Workers of Isfahan was fired in the wake of his speech at the Auditorium of workers´ sport center Taheri in the South PARS region of county kangan.

At a Iranian new year event, khodadadi spoke about enhancing the rights of workers ', the lack of workers ' organizations and issued a call for the unity and organizing. He also supported the working class protests in the Europe and called on Iranian workers to keep step with the workers´ protests of other countries.

During his speech the security forces of the sport center attacked him and tried in vain to arrest him, but they faced resistance of 1500 Workers. But now he is fired after 7 days. The worker activist Khodadadi is employed by the industrial network development company of Iran (IIND).

Iran Industrial Networks Development (IIND Co.) is specialized in Installation and maintenance of  petrochemical, Oil & Gas facilities.

Auf welcher Seite steht Mansour Osanloo?

Mansour Osanloo, der ehemalige Vorsitzende der Teheraner Vahed Busgewerkschaft wurde im Juni 2011 aus dem Gefängnis entlassen, nachdem er seit 2005 mehrmals wegen seiner Aktivitäten für die Gewerkschaft im Gefängnis war.

Im Januar dieses Jahres gab die Vahed-Gewerkschaft auf ihrer Webseite die Entlassung  Osanloos als Vorsitzenden des Vorstandes bekannt. Diese Ankündigung verbreitete sich wie ein Lauffeuer.

Am 1.März 2013 fand in London eine Pressekonferenz mit internationaler Beteiligung statt, in der der milliardenschwere Geschäftsmann  Amir Hossein Jahanshahi, der als Patriot und Nationalist gilt, eine iranische Vergangenheit  hat und als Gründer der „Green Wave“ bezeichnet wird, den ehemaligen Führer der Vahed-Gewerkschaft Mansour  Oslanoo vorstellte. Osanloo war via Skype zugeschaltet und hielt sich an einem geheimen Ort auf.  Kurz zuvor hatte er sich aus dem Iran abgesetzt.

Arbeiter gehören nicht ins Gefängnis!

Arbeiter und friedensliebende Menschen !

In letzter Zeit hat eine neue Welle von Vorladungen, Verhaftungen von Arbeiteraktivisten und Arbeitern eingesetzt.

Die sieben Arbeiteraktivisten Khaled Hosseini, vafa Ghaderi, Ali Azadi, Ghaleb Hosseini, Behzad farajolahi, and Hamed Mahmoud Nejad, Mitglieder des Komitees zur Schaffung von Arbeiterorganisationen, sowie Sharif Saad Panah, ein Mitglied der freien Arbeiter-Gewerkschaft im Iran, wurden verhaftet und ins Gefängnis gesteckt. Eine Anzahl von anderen Arbeiteraktivisten wurde eingeschüchtert, bedroht oder verhört. Diese Bedrohungen und Inhaftierungen sind geschehen, während Mohammad Jarahi, Fariborz Rees Dana, Shahrokh Zamani, Pedram Nasrolahi, Rasol Badaghi, Abdolreza Ghanbari neben vielen anderen Arbeiteraktivisten sich immer noch im Gefängnis befinden.

Arbeiteraktivisten werden verhaftet und verurteilt, während die hart arbeitenden und mittellosen Menschen in einer elenden Situation leben und die Kaufkraft der Arbeiterklasse von Tag zu Tag abnimmt  und sie jede Hoffnung auf Besserung verlieren.

Inhaftierter Arbeiter Mohammad Jarahi trotz Krebs im Gefängnis

Bei Mohammad Jarahi wurde  Schildrüsenkrebs diagnostiziert. Vor ca. einem Monat  wurde seine Schilddrüse durch einen operativen Eingriff  im Imam Reza Krankenhaus der Stadt Tabrīz entfernt. Die anschließende Analyse ergab, dass es sich um ein bösartiges Krebsgeschwür handelt.

Zur Behandlung müsste er umgehend in ein Krankenhaus eingewiesen werden, um sich einer  Radioiodtherapie zu unterziehen. Aus diesem Grund organisierte seine Familie seine Einweisung in das medizinisch-radiologische Zenrum Dabiri in Tabrīz. Sie verlangten die sofortige Überweisung aus dem Gefängnis aus medizinischen Gründen, haben aber bis dato noch keine Antwort seitens der Gefängnisverwaltung erhalten.

Das iranische Gesetz  verpflichtet die Gefängnisverwaltung zur  Freistellung aus dem Gefängnis, wenn akute medizinische Gründe dafür vorliegen. Der Arbeiter Jahari befindet sich seit 2 Jahren im Gefängnis von Tabrīz. Er ist Mitglied des Komitees zur Schaffung und Gründung von Arbeiterorganisationen, das sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat, sich für die Gründung von unabhängigen Arbeiterorganisationen im Iran einzusetzen.

Mohammad Jarahi und Shahrokh Zamani sind in nichtöffentlichen Verhandlungen  zu langjährigen Gefängnisstrafen verurteilt worden. Sie verbringen zurzeit eine fünfjährige Haftstrafe in Tabrīz, im Nordwesten Irans.

Mansour Osanloo tell which side you are on?

Mansour Osanloo, the former President of the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), who has been imprisoned several times from 2005 for his trade union activities, was release  in June 2011 from prison.

On January of this year the official website of this union announced Osanloo´s dismissal as the chairman of the board of this union. The news spread like wildfire.

On March 01, 2013, in a press briefing held in central London with members of the international press Amir Hossein Jahanchahi,  the nationalist patriot expat billionaire businessman and Founder of “Green Wave” introduced Mansour Osanlou, via skype for his first interview with the media from a secret location, following his recent escape from Iran.

Reza Shahabi: Workers should not be in prison!

Workers and freedom loving people!

Recently an intensified new round of summons, detentions and imprisonment of labor activists and workers has begun.
Seven labor activists: Khaled Hosseini, vafa Ghaderi, Ali Azadi, Ghaleb Hosseini, Behzad farajolahi, and Hamed Mahmoud Nejad members of the Coordinating Committee to help Form Workers´ Organizations and Sharif Saad Panah, a member of the free Union of workers in Iran, have been arrested and jailed, a number of other labor activists have been intimidated, threatened or summoned.

Labour activist Seyed Ghaleb Hosseini arrested

Today March 19 Seyed Ghaleb Hosseini, labor activist and member of the Coordinating Committee to help Form Workers´ organizations was arrested by the intelligence and security forces in the city of Sanandaj, at his workplace.  

Days before March 8 and also after the arrest of six other labour actives he has been threatened several times by the security forces on the phone and was urged to contact the intelligent service. 

Unpaid wages of cemetery workers

250 workers of the central cemetery of metropolitan Tehran “Behesht-e Zahra”gathered in front of the office building of the cemetery in protest against unpaid wages of last three months. These workers work 10 hours per day and so far there has been no response to their demands.

Protest at tile factory Gilana

210 workers of tile factory Gilana gathered for the second time in front of the governor's office of city Rudbar to protest against their unpaid wages of last 7 months and the year-end bonus.

These workers covered the distance 6 kilometers between the factory, located in the city of Manjil, and the city of Rudbar on foot.

Mohammad Jarahi, the imprisoned worker, has cancer and is still held in prison

Mohammad Jarahi is being diagnosed with cancer of thyroid. About a month ago a part of his thyroid gland was removed during a surgery in Imam Reza hospital in the city of Tabriz. The biopsy test results now confirm that his thyroid cancer is malignant.

He now needs to be hospitalized immediately and undergo an iodine treatment. For this reason his family arranged his admission at the nuclear medicine center Dabiri in the city of Tabriz. They requested for medical leave one week ago, but have so far received no response from the prison authorities or from the judge.

Even according to the current Iranian law, judicial authorities are bound to release the prisoners with acute illness immediately for treatment.

Jarahi, the imprisoned workers is since two years in prison in city of Tabriz. Jarahi is member of the Committee to pursue the establishment of Workers Organizations, a group campaigning for the foundation of independent trade unions in Iran.

Mohammad Jarahi and Shahrokh Zamani were sentenced to long prison terms in a trial behind closed doors; he is currently serving the 5 years prison sentences in Tabriz prison in north-west of Iran.

A report of the ceramic and tile factory Kajeh

Kajeh is a manufacturer of ceramic and tile, which is located at the industrial city of Islamabad in province Kermanshah.  Due to the embargo and lack of raw materials the factory operates just few days a month. Based on this report the days when the factory is closed the workers do not receive neither wages nor unemployment insurance. The factory has 500 employees.

Reported by the electrical and metalworkers Guild of Kermanshah 

10th continues day of strike of 1200 workers of Safa Pipe Rolling factory

The workers of Safa Pipe Rolling factory in the city of Saveh resumed their strike on March 5^th.

On January 5^th the employer presented the workers a payment schedule for the six months delayed wages, but the employer failed again and again to meet the promised deadlines. Since then the workers could force the employer to pay 2 of 6 months delayed wages.

Based on the schedule one month wages were due on March 5^th.

On March 10^th, the sixth day of their strike, the workers announced that the employer should also pay the wages that were supposed to be paid at this day.

In the wake of strike of 1200 workers, the employer deposited one of 4 months pack wages into their accounts on March 10^th, but the workers refused to return to work and are still on strike.

Islamic regime set the monthly minimum wage below the poverty line

The Islamic Supreme Labour Council set the minimum wage for 11.5 million workers at 487,125 Toman for the next Iranian year (20 March 2013- 20 March 2014).

This represents a 25% increase versus the last year's minimum wage. At first glance it appears to be a significant percentage. Yet this minimum wage applies only to workers covered by the labour law; a large proportion of workers are not covered by the labor law, including contract workers, temporary, seasonal, and project workers.

Even a member of the Islamic Supreme Labour Council estimates the real poverty line at about 1.5 million Toman. Other sources estimate the cost of living for a family of four including health care, housing, food, clothing, transportation and education to be of over 2 million and 361 thousand Toman per month.  This is while the phase two of the plans to eliminate subsidies is set to be implemented in this spring.

Market and economic experts say that the price increase for consumption goods especially in worker households reached an average of 61.7 per cent between November 2011 up to November 2012 and the growth rate for some other items reached even 100%, 120% and 200%.

Estimates show that if the current monthly rate of price increase continues, for one year, the annual rate of inflation will reach a peak of 71%. 

Sharif Saed Panah arrested

Sharif Saed Panah board member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers was arrested at his home in the city of Sanandaj. About 20  security agents executed a search warrant at his home and confiscated his computer.

Sharif was for many years the workers representative of the Parris factory until his unfair dismissal.  Now he is workering in a housing project in the city of Sanandaj. 

He was arrested in December 2011 along with Mozafar Saleh Nia, another board member of this union and was put several times on trial.

In the latest trial of Sharif and Mozafar the judge announced that if they resign from the Free Union of Iranian Workers, they will be acquitted of charges. But they both rejected this offer.

Sharif was arrested yesterday while 5 Coordinating Committee members were arrested during the past few days in the city of Sanandaj.

Five labour activists arrested

Today, at 6 a.m. Ali Azadi was arrested in the city of Sanandaj at his work place. 

Vafa Ghaderi, Khaled Hosseini, Behzad Farajolahi and Hamed Mahmoudnejad were arrested half an hour earlier  by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security "MOIS" at their homes.

All these Labor activists are members of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers' Organizations.  

It should be noted that yesterday, Aafa Qaderi was threatened by the agents in a phone call that in case of holding the women's day celebration on March 8, he will be arrested. 

Protest of 600 Metal Industries workers

Six hundred workers of two factories of Metal Industries ”Sanaye Felezi”,  gathered to protest the non-payment of their wages for more than 4 months and the carelessness of the Government to their situation.

Following the strike, State-run factory management announced that they just can pay the 40% left amount of the November wages. After this announcement the protesting workers of both Metal Industries plants staged a protest rally outside the factory and put tires on fire in the middle of the street. In the wake of this protest action by the workers, the police and security forces arrived immediately on the scene.  The workers ended the rally after a two-hour confrontation with security forces and held a General Assembly. In the Assembly the workers decided to continue their protest in the next days in front of government institutions.

The retired workers of these factories are as well in a similar situation. About 200 workers retired during the last five years have not yet received any retirement benefits. The ongoing protests of these retired workers are ignored and the authorities only make promises, with no intention of keeping them. 

Mohammad Jarahi returned to prison

Mohammad Jarahi was ten days ago transferred to the hospital for a surgical operation; after the surgery, he was returned to prison. Jarahi was told that he even has to pay the hospital bills.

Jarahi, the imprisoned workers is since two years in prison in city of Tabriz. Mohammad Jarahi and Shahrokh Zamani were sentenced to long prison terms in a trial behind closed doors.