Iran Reports

Iran: Workers protest against anti-worker bill

Vahed Syndicate protest against antiworker bill Nov 15 2016 Tehran

Iran: Hundreds of workers from various labour formations in Iran (including “Tehran Bus Workers’ Syndicate”, “Free Union of Iranian Workers” …) gathered in front of the parliament building on November 15, 2016 to express their adamant opposition to a new anti-worker bill introduced in the parliament to take away the meagre protective measures stipulated in the current labour law. The current labour law is already very reactionary denying workers their right to organize and strike; the proposed changes, packaged as a “reform” will further criminalize workers’ activists and will basically make temporary contract the main form of employment in the currently. It will take workers’ conditions back to the beginning of the 20th century, according to independent workers’ organizations and labour activists in Iran who are constantly under surveillance and persecuted routinely. In spite of repressive conditions, thousands of workers across the country have been signing petitions and rallying against the new anti-worker bill that was originally introduced by Ahmadinejad cabinet and is now aggressively pursued by Rouhani’s government. The entire establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its various cabinets have been implementing very hostile austerity measures aiming at producing and sustaining one of the cheapest and least organized workforces in the region and across the world.

International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (IASWI)
November 2016

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