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To: International Labour Organization ( ILO ) From: The Syndicate of Workers of Haft
Tapeh Sugar Cane Company Cc: Labour organizations, Human rights
groups and media Subject: Appeal for actions to prevent
the Government of We, workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company, have faced continuing
violation of our rights and demands, including non-payments of our wages for
several months, in addition to the concerted efforts by the employer to cease
sugar cane plantation and eventually closing down the factory and privatizing
the company. We workers of Haft Tapeh are foreseeing mass layoffs. They have
already stopped paying us for our over-time work. Workers organized protests and rallies from 2006 to 2009, and through
peaceful means complained to legal authorities about the situation; however,
all this did not achieve any results and our delayed wages were not paid and
even some workers were persecuted. The Islamic Labour Council, which is a sham
“worker” organization affiliated to the government and the employer has done
nothing to help achieve our rights. Other places are facing similar situation. Having said the above, the main reason for writing this to you is as
follows: In October 2008, Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane workers organized their
general assembly and elected their representatives under the name of the
Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company (Sandikaa-ye Kargaran-e
Sherkat-e Neyshekar-e Haft Tapeh). In addition to a number of national and international
laws, we also referred to the ILO conventions 98 and 87. We believe that we have every right to form our independent labour
organization. Accordingly, 9 workers were elected as representatives of the
Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane workers in a general election by workers. This was the
first time in more than four decades that thousands of workers participated
freely and enthusiastically in an election to choose their own representatives.
Unfortunately, both before and after our election, we, the representatives
of four thousand workers and other members of the board of directors of the
Syndicate, were arrested, jailed and interrogated numerous times; our families
have been under pressure and were persecuted by the intelligence forces. We
were taken to the court recurrently using allegations like “action against
national security “against us. The president of our board of directors, Ali
Nejati, was incarcerated in a solitary confinement for about 40 days and was
subjected to constant interrogation and mistreatment. Finally, Mr. Nejati was
fired from work in March 2009 by the intelligence office and the company’
security department. The court has issued one year imprisonment (which has been divided
into 6 months of incarceration and 6 months of suspended imprisonment) and
other fines and social restrictions against five members of the Haft Tapeh
Workers Syndicate’s board of directors, Ali Nejati, Jalil Ahmadi, Feridoun
Nikoufard, Ghorban Alipour and Mohammad Heydari mehr. Subsequently, they were
also banned from working for the company. The following explanations have been given in their court orders for
the above sentences: “Acting against national security through the formation of a
syndicate outside the law”! We are asking the International Labour Organization: - Is the Iranian government permissible to violating fundamental
conventions like 98 and 87? - Isn’t the Iranian government a permanent member of the ILO? - Has the Iranian government ever been held accountable for its
actions? - Why are workers being jailed, fired, persecuted, interrogated and
tortured for creating their own independent trade organizations? - Shouldn’t the Iranian government be accountable for its repressive
actions against the representatives of the Vahed Workers’ Syndicate including
Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi over and above the Haft Tapeh workers’
representatives? - Shouldn’t the Iranian government be told that it cannot imprison
workers (over 150 in Tehran May Day event) for organizing a peaceful
commemoration of the International Workers’ Day? That they must not put on
trial, flog or jail workers for celebrating the May Day, (for instance Mahmoud
Salehi who was jailed for one year)? - Is the ILO aware of the government actions against teachers’
representatives and the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association? … And so on and so
forth. We, workers and members of the board of directors of the Haft Tapeh
Workers’ Syndicate, are writing this letter while the police is involved in
intimidating and terrorizing our families. The police have been acting, in our
cities of Shoush, Haft Tapeh and Andimeshk, as though we are criminals and
fugitives. We are writing this while awaiting to be arrested and sent to prison
for the above unjust sentences; and while our names have been put on the
company’s entrance as offenders that are not allowed to enter the workplace. If
we go to our work the police will arrest us and that will give them another
excuse to further penalize us. It is very strange that if we go to work they
arrest us and if we don’t they’ll treat us as absentees which would justify
sacking us altogether which would lead to our arrest and imprisonment. This
vicious cycle has been orchestrated in a way that at the end of the day we will
be both sacked and imprisoned. Thus, we don’t know when you’re going to be
reading this letter whether we would be in jail or not. Nevertheless, we are hoping that you will be pressuring the Iranian
government to respect some of the most basic rights of Haft Tapeh workers and
workers across We are not afraid of any consequences for ourselves in the path that
we have chosen for the achievement of our rights, but we are hoping that, in
jail, we would hear that the ILO has taken all necessary measures concerning
the inhumane actions of the Iranian government and the violations of
conventions 98 and 87. We will anticipate to hearing about your actions in this
regard. Should workers pin any hope on the ILO? We, and many workers in Will ever any effective action be taken?!! Sincerely, The Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh
Sugar Cane Company (stamped and
signed by : ) Ali Nejati, President of the Board of
Directors Feridoun Nikoufard, the Vice-President of
the Board of Directors Jalil Ahmadi, member of the Board of
Directors and representative on industry affairs Reza Rakhshan, member of the Board of
Directors and Responsible for Public Relations and Education Haft Tapeh, Shoush, October 24, 2009
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