MAY DAY 2003/ IRAN:
Workers Protest Ban on Demonstrations

Ramin Mostaghim

Workers around Teheran who had planned to demonstrate May Day against low minimum wages, now plan to protest because they were not allowed to demonstrate.
Riot police turned up at Khane Karegar (House of Labour), which houses several union offices in Teheran to order union leaders to postpone their rallies to May 6.

TEHERAN, May 1 (IPS) - Workers around Teheran who had planned to demonstrate May Day against low minimum wages, now plan to protest because they were not allowed to demonstrate.

Riot police turned up at Khane Karegar (House of Labour), which houses several union offices in Teheran to order union leaders to postpone their rallies to May 6.

The police action drew instant protest. "This is the first time since the triumph of the Islamic revolution that workers leaders have had to cancel a rally on International Labour Day," Alireza Mahjoub, member of parliament and secretary-general of Khane Karegar wrote to government authorities. "This is the most bitter decision ever made by workers unions."

The unions had planned demonstrations to demand higher wages to keep up with the cost of living, and early retirement options for workers doing hazardous jobs. The rallies were cancelled apparently under pressure from the Interior Ministry.

"We could not risk having our workers get beaten up and arrested," Mahjoub told IPS. "But sooner or later we will protest."

Unions will file a lawsuit against the officials who forced them to cancel the rallies, said Mahjoub. Union leaders say that the right to hold demonstrations is guaranteed by Article 27 of the Constitution . . .

A member of the Communist Labour party which works underground says the situation inside Iraq was only an excuse to cancel the demonstrations. "The regime is misusing the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq to crack down on workers and other protesting groups in Iran," he said. "Instead they should be encouraging workers to come together in these conditions."

Mohammed Vali from the daily Karo Karegar (Labour and Labourer) said the government was manipulating and intimidating union leaders. "Independent and viable trade unions cannot survive in the face of this repressive government," he said.

"The presence of American forces near our borders is a good excuse to stop workers from protesting," said Prof Shapour Ravasani, a strong opponent of globalisation. "But I am certain that even these state-sponsored workers leaders will have to fight for the rights of Iranian workers, though we should not expect too much from quasi trade unions."

Mohammad Hydari, manager of the workers website parspejvak.com says the coming months will see an upsurge of protests whether officials like it or not. "The roots of dissatisfaction run deep and they cannot be ignored on the pretext of the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq," he says.