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Bus workers in Iran demand release of arrested union leader
5 January 2006
Thousands of bus workers stood up against union repression in Iran this week, as they gathered at a rally in Tehran to demand the immediate release of their trade union leader.
At the Azadi Stadium gathering on 2 January, workers of Sherkat e Vahed, the Tehran Bus Company, called for their union leader Mansour Osanloo to be set free. He was arrested along with 13 other members of the bus workers’ union on 22 December, reportedly charged with "illegal trade union" activity and "turbulence". A further 17 Sherkat e Vahed trade unionists were also subsequently detained.
The first round of arrests prompted strike action on 25 December; protestors demanded the release of the detainees.
All except Osanloo were freed on 28 December; it is believed that he remains imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin prison, known as an infamous detention and torture centre for political prisoners. There are fears that an eye condition suffered by Osanloo could deteriorate during his detention.
Reports have also emerged that the union’s accounts have been frozen and members’ wages stopped.
Arab ITF-affiliated unions in Jordan, Tunisia and Palestine have joined the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in condemning the arrests in a protest letter to the Iranian government.
Bilal Malkawi, ITF Arab World Offices commented: “Transport workers’ struggle continues everywhere in this region. All they are seeking is the right to organise and bargain collectively. Free and democratic trade unions around the world need to stand in solidarity, hand in hand with their brothers in Iran, and the Iranian government must recognise workers’ rights.”
Union leaders, who called off industrial action following a promise by the mayor to meet its demands, have now issued an ultimatum stating that the strike will resume should the authorities fail to release Osanloo.
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