May 30, 2003
Mr. Mohammad Khatami
President
Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Azarbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Iran
Fax: 98 21 674790
[Email: [email protected]]
Dear President Khatami:
On behalf of the 2.5 million members of the Canadian Labour
Congress (CLC), I am
writing this letter to protest your government’s inaction
concerning the textile workers in
"Behshahr Chintz-Making" factory who have been on hunger strike since May
15, 2003.
It is our understanding that these workers, whose numbers are
approximately 2000, have
not been paid for 27 months. Their overdue wages amount to
about 5 billion Tomans.
We have been informed that your officials have agreed to pay
only 200 million Tomans
in the short-term and the payment of the rest of their money
has been postponed to an
unknown future date. The workers have, of course, rejected
this offer and organized a
new series of protests including sit-in and hunger strikes in
the factory. According to
our information, the health conditions of a number of strikers have been
deteriorating,
and some have already been hospitalized.
At the same time, workers in other sectors and areas in Iran,
facing similar withholding
of their wages, have been organizing protests and strike
activities.
We urge you to take any possible measures to ensure that the
workers of Behshahr
Chintz-Making factory and the others receive their total
overdue wages as soon as possible.
We also urge you to implement the internationally recognized
rights of workers
which include the right to form independent labour
organizations and the right to strike.
I look forward to your response to this appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth V. Georgetti
President
CC:
The Honourable Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labour
CLC Officers and Executive Assistants
CLC Executive Committee
ICFTU
***
Background Information:
Textile workers in “Behshahr Chintz-Making” factory have been
on hunger strike since May 15th 2003. These workers, whose
numbers are approximately 2000, have not been paid for 27
months. Their overdue wages amount to about 5 billion Tomans
(Almost Cnd $10,000,000.00).
Behshahr textile workers’ struggle against the withholding of
their wages date back to a couple of years ago but it has
never reached to a satisfactory conclusion. On April 16th,
2003, close to 30 thousands workers and people in Behshahr
staged an angry protest and marched throughout the city. This
strong demonstration shook the government officials so hard
that after their initial use of force and imposition of a
martial law, they found no other choice but to engage
themselves in negotiations with workers. After a couple weeks
of delaying tactics and empty promises, authorities agreed to
pay only 200 million Tomans.
Workers immediately rejected that
insulting offer and staged a new series of protests. The
sit-in and hunger strike in the factory was initiated by a
small number of workers, two of whom even made their will,
demonstrating their ultimate determination for the achievement
of their demands. They were soon joined by almost 400 other
workers. The government authorities, especially the Behshahr’s
Governor, have been attempting to intimidate workers while
continuing with their empty promises. They have tried to
discourage workers from supporting their colleagues.
Unfortunately, there is little news on the progress of this
strike given that the security forces have been surrounding
the factory area and official media have been silent on this
issue since the strike has begun. According to a number of
sources, the health conditions of a number of strikers have
been deteriorating, and some have already been receiving
medical treatments. Workers have vowed to continue their
struggle until they meet their just demands, which is at this
stage the immediate and unconditional payment of their total
unpaid wages.
At the same time, workers in other parts of Iran, facing
similar outrageous withholding of their wages, have been
organizing protests and strike activities. As we have reported
previously, more than one million workers in Iran have been
suffering from the withholding of their wages by employers and
the government, which is the largest employer in the country.
This outrageous condition of workers have affected a large
section of the society in terms of housing, health, access to
food and clothing as well as other basic needs. Workers’
struggles against all these gross violations of their
fundamental human rights have been relentless despite the fact
that Iranian regime’s labour law and practices does not allow
the formation of independent labour organizations and trade
unions and labour strike is prohibited.
Behshahr workers need your support and solidarity. The protest letter by the president of the Canadian Labour
Congress was sent to the President of the Islamic
Republic of Iran in support of Behshahr’s and a million other
workers in Iran who have been suffering from the unpaid wages.
In solidarity,
International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran
