Protest Murder of Workers in Iran
Iranian security forces and Kerman Province's special guards brutally attacked protesting workers at the Nazkhaton's Copper Smeltery in the City of Babak, Province of Kerman on January 23, 2004, killing at lease four and injuring dozens others.
The attack was a bloody response to a sit-in and protest action held by the company's contract workers and their families, including many elder women who were there to support their children. The company has decided to lay off all their contract workers, which are almost entirely residents of this small city, despite its continued operations and hiring.
All main Iranian news agencies and newspapers covered this incident and President Khatami was forced to send a delegation to probe it. However, the residents of the city continued their protests despite heavy presence of army and special guards of the regime across the city. There have been clashes with the security forces in different parts of the city and scores of people have been arrested. The city is half closed and people have been gathering in front of the residences of the murdered workers demanding immediate identification of those responsible for their killings.
There is an overwhelming lack of trust towards Khatami's delegations since they have never been accountable and sincere in the past. There have been numerous similar cases that these types of delegations ended up blaming the victims as well as exonerating those responsible amongst the regimes' authorities from any wrongdoing.
The government of Iran does not have any credibility to probe into such gross violation of human and workers rights. We are therefore asking international labour organizations particularly ICFTU and other global unions and their affiliates to not only protest against this inhuman actions of the authorities of the Iranian government but also demand an independent delegation representing labour and human rights' organization to directly investigate the situation that led to the shooting, killing and injuring workers and their families and identify those responsible for this butchery.
There are a number of issues for consideration in this process:
- The role that the Governor of Kerman and the City of Babak's authorities played in this incident.
- Helicopters were used prior to and during the shootings. Where did these helicopters come from and who ordered their raid on protesting workers.
- How many people have exactly lost their lives and how many got injured? Unofficial news report of 7 to 15 dead and up to 300 wounded.
- How many people have been arrested in total? According to several reliable sources, a number of those arrested had been tortured.
- The families of those lost their lives must receive proper compensation. Both the Company and the governor's office as well as the government of the Iran are responsible for this harm.
- The role that government's privatizations policies and practices have played in creating such an unsafe and insecure conditions for working people should be taken into account. The temporary contracts imposed by companies and their subcontractors have left hundreds of thousands of workers in Iran with no job security and benefits. The government is in violation of numerous internationally recognized labour and human rights regarding their responsibilities towards the citizens of Iran.
- Lack of independent workers' organizations and the right to strike which is another violation of workers' universal rights has caused so much pressure and anxiety on workers and their families because they feel their voices are unheard and repressed. Present so called labour groups, including "Islamic Labour Councils", "Workers' House" and "guild associations" are not recognized by Iranian workers because they are sponsored and linked to the government and do not represent the interest of the working class in Iran.
- The current relationship between the International Labour Organization and the Iranian government, particularly with the Ministry of Labour, needs to be examined by the labour groups within the ILO and through other means to preclude any justifications of the anti-worker and oppressive policies and practices of the Iranian government.
Please send your protest letters and condemnations to:
Mohammad Khatami,
President
Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Azarbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Iran
Fax: 98-21-674790
Email: [email protected]
c.c. to:
ILO Workers Group
Avenue Blanc 46
CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland
[email protected]
Guy Ryder
General Secretary
ICFTU
5 Boulevard du Roi Albert II, Bte 1
1210 Brussels, Belgium
Fax: +32 (0) 2 201 5815
Please send a copy of your protest letter or a report on your actions to:
International Alliance in Support of Workers Rights in Iran
alliance AT workers-iran.org
P.O.Box 1164 Station Q,
Toronto, Ontario, M4T 2P4
Canada