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Global solidarity in action

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Page context: Home > Transport International Magazine > Issue 24 July 2006 > Global solidarity in action

The ITF’s ability to mobilise global solidarity in times of dispute is a key test of its strength as a movement, as demonstrated by the recent conflict in Tehran. Mac Urata reports

Australian unionists in Canberra were wearing short sleeves. Everyone at the Oslo rally was dressed in their warmest winter clothes. But they all chanted the same message that echoed around the world: “Free the Tehran bus workers now!” As Buzz Hargrove of the Canadian Auto Workers Union commented: “The many arrests, whatever the exact number, are a completely disproportionate response to legitimate industrial action.”

The Tehran Bus Workers’ Union was re-established in May 2005, 25 years after being disbanded by the authorities. Its activists were fostered during five years of Friday meetings at which they studied workers’ rights, using literature from the International Labour Organisation.

Workers in the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed) have been discontented for a long time. Many continue to drive buses made in Hungary during the Communist era. With a petrol price of 10 cents a litre, the city is flooded with cars, and traffic jams get out of control. Worse still, managers siphon petty cash from the staff salaries. Drivers’ assistants were recently abolished.

So it is not surprising that 8,000 of the company’s 17,000 employees took part in the election of the leadership at the union’s inauguration meeting, despite brutal attacks from government agents and company thugs, and roadblocks to the venue.

Struggle for survival

From the 1980s, the Islamic regime of Iran began to disband genuine unions and set up Workers’ Houses and Islamic Labour Councils at all work sites. In the months prior to the re-establishment of the union last year, at least 17 activists were dismissed from the company. The Workers’ Houses, Labour Councils, company guards and security forces repeatedly attacked and injured activists including Mansour Osanloo, who would eventually become the union president. He required hospital treatment to stitch up his tongue and neck. He was then taken into custody for questioning and released, only to be detained again months later.

After May, oppression continued as the union now sought recognition and a conclusion of the collective bargaining agreement. Flashing their vehicle lights while on duty to protest company intransigence was regarded as public disorder.

On 22 December, when the Western world was slowing down for the Christmas break, the authorities arrested the union leadership en masse. This action sparked instant protest, as 3,000 bus workers in Tehran walked out of the job. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was quick to protest. The ITF Amman office followed events and swiftly began to plan a response. Without their efforts in monitoring the developments during a holiday season, the entire picture may have been rather opaque.

Resistance crushed

Within days the ITF and transport workers’ unions had joined the ranks of protest. All detained unionists except their leader, Mansour Osanloo, were released. The ITF urban transport committee adopted a motion in support of the Tehran bus workers at its meeting in Paris on 17 January. Then the union made an announcement – a one-day strike on 28 January to demand the release of Osanloo.

Two days prior to the planned industrial action, members of the union’s executive board were summoned by the court and not released. The security forces and the company brought in strike-breakers and distributed flyers throughout the city, accusing the union of being subversive and populated by saboteurs.

By 27 January, 100 unionists had already been arrested as the police raided their homes during the evening. On the actual day of the strike, bus drivers were beaten and forced to drive buses. Hundreds of workers and their wives, and even children, were transferred to the notorious Evin Prison. To crush the strike, the security forces used tear gas and batons. At the height of the conflict, several sources reported that up to 1,300 workers and their supporters were taken into custody.

Global response

Now what? The ITF and the ICFTU had to make a quick decision. We fixed upon a global protest day in the name of Global Unions, drawing upon our experience of organising an action day last year in protest at the violation of trade union rights in Nepal. ITF unions and the secretariat would be quite familiar with organising such an event. And since Iranian embassies existed in only 30 countries, we reasoned, we wouldn’t need much time to target them all with protest events.

The date was soon set for Wednesday 15 February. We made sure there was no major holiday set on that day. We double-checked this with our Amman Office, as the participation of the Arab unions was crucial to send a strong message of protest to Iran.

The announcement was made. Action Day literature was produced very quickly in Spanish and French. Some materials were translated into Farsi for the workers in Tehran by Iranian union activists in exile. The ITF website updated developments regularly, and online news stories were emailed out. A press statement was released. Secretariat staff organised a rally in London. Protest actions had already taken place in London and Ottawa on 4 February. The secretariat contacted key unions to reconfirm their participation. An electronic petition organised by the online labour news service, Labourstart, collected a few thousand signatures within days.

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