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Persecution of Iranian trade unionist must stop, says ITF
20 December 2006
 |  | | Mansour Osanloo: released yesterday | |
The ITF has demanded that the continued persecution of an Iranian trade unionist be brought to an end and that fundamental trade union rights be respected.
The remarks were made in a statement by ITF General Secretary David Cockroft welcoming the release from prison yesterday of Mansour Osanloo, President of the trade union of workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company. He had been re-arrested on 19 November, not long after having been set free from an eight-month period of detention, following a long campaign of intimidation by Iranian police and state security agents.
In the statement Cockroft, said: “We welcome the release of Mansour Osanloo, and the thoughts of ourselves and trade unionists around the world are with him today.”
He continued: “Progress has been made but more needs to be done. The persecution of this man has to stop. Fundamental trade union rights have to be respected in Iran and we await similar good news on Mansour Osanloo’s colleagues, some of whom have been sacked, all of whom have been denied the right to be represented by the union of their choice.”
“It took worldwide protests to secure this release, and we can all feel proud to have been part of those, but it shouldn’t need to be that way. The government of Iran has to face up to its responsibilities unprompted.”
The ITF and the International Trade Union Confederation have led an international campaign against trade union repression in Iran and the imprisonment of Osanloo. This has involved protest letters to the Irananian government, demonstrations outside embassies and a formal complaint to the International Labour Organization.
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