Press Release on the Occasion of May Day

Press Release
Despite the elapse of two years of Mr. Hassan Rohani’s administration, that the slogan of improving living conditions and the economy was one of his most important campaign promises, no promising improvements has happened in the living conditions of the workers.

We are going to welcome International Workers’ Day, while Iranian labor community is still struggling with too many problems.

Determining the minimum wage of the Supreme Council of the work on the last couple of days, last year, which many scholars and labor activists say, is much lower than the actual inflation rate in the country and also lower than the value of an expenses basket of household, is the other reason of workers’ voices weakness and the continuation of labor community’s’ protests in the country.

Human Rights Activists in Iran believes that job insecurity in the shadow of temporary work contracts, closed workshops and factories and daily unemployment of a large number of workers, lack of safety in workplaces, and increasing incidents’ rate, lack of proper social security insurance for all, lack of timely payment of salaries and also discrimination in wages, especially with the increase in the number of  informal and clandestine workers who are deprived of any legal rights, are just some of the reasons for the workers’ protest in recent years.

However, the privatization of state-owned factories and companies, regardless of the long-term interests of the workers led to the formation of massive protests, the Iron Ore workers protest, last year in Bafg, in Yazd, was one of these widespread protests.

Although the country’s constitution stipulates on freedom of association and forming groups, that have been stressed on also in Conventions 87 and 98 of the Universal Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights of Work, unfortunately because of the existing security attitude, we have been seen summons, detentions, court verdicts and sentences that were issued for labor activists, also  conflict with the any kind of rally and with forming groups and syndicates, which could follow the demands of the workers. So that, up to date a large number of well-known labor activists are held in prison, they have been  dismissed from their job or waiting to endure their suspended heavy judicial sentences, and in some cases, they have had to leave the country.

Human Rights Activists in Iran, along with celebrating the International Workers’ Day and supporting the legitimate demands of the workers, asks the country’s authorities to respect the constitution and international conventions, in particular the International Labor Organization’s Universal Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights of Work, which Iran also has signed, improve employment and living conditions for workers and eliminate security approach in this field.

We also ask the government to release all of imprisoned workers and stop unjust sentences that have been issued by non-transparent procedures, and provide the appropriate conditions for
dismissed workers to go back to their work and provide secure working environment for the workers.
Human Rights Activists in Iran

30.04.2015

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