The Response of Iranian Authorities to the International Labor Federation

The representatives of International Transport Workers’ Federation didn’t succeed to meet labor minister, deputies, and managers in their mission to Iran.

Etemad e Meli, Amir Godarzi - Two workers’ rights defenders from Indonesia, last week after entering to the country, announced that they traveled to Iran to investigate the situation of imprisoned workers of the Vahed’s Syndicate. They tried to meet the labor authorities and they knocked any doors, even they went to the minister’s house.  The ITF and ITUC’s representatives, faced with the closed door, while were on their way back to Indonesia, with the absolute certainty, said that they would come back soon with a high level mission.  “Mansour Osanloo” was the core issue that took the representatives of International Federation to our country, and made David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary, to send the mission. Osanloo, the labor activist at the Tehran and Suburban Bus (Vahed) Company, was arrested after he got off the bus several months ago, and there was no news about him for a while. His family, after continuous following up, was able to visit him by phone only once. At the moment, It is said that Osanloo has an eye problem and he faces new charges after he was arrested.

After Osanloo was arrested, on August 9, 2007, some of the workers of Vahed Company went to Osanloo’s house to visit his family and express their sympathy. As they were about entering to his house, eight of them were arrested and transferred to prison. After a short period of time, six of the detainees were released, but Ibrahim Madadi, one of the worker’s activists, is still in detention. Activists tried hard and followed up Madadi’s case to clarify his situation as far as the International Trade Unions in Indonesia met Iran Ambassador in Indonesia, but ITF, International Transport Workers’ Federation, and ITUC, International Trade Union Confederation, didn’t gain anything from this meeting. So, they decided to travel to Iran to fulfill their trade unions objectives. Syukur Sarto, General Secretary of Indonesian Trade unions Confederation, and Hanifa Rustandi, Chair of the ITF’s national coordination committee in Indonesia, entered to Iran as a tourist to investigate the situation of the imprisoned workers, because, as they said, they faced with the hard situation to get visa. Whereas Sarto and Rustandi looked very tired from their short time trip, and they didn’t do as much as they thought, but it didn’t seem that they were upset.  A couple of hours before their flight back to Indonesia, they answered any questions that came to my mind and I asked. They told me that they came to Iran to investigate about two imprisoned workers of the Vahed’s syndicate, and to pursuit the implementation of ILO Convention No. 93. Rustandi about the difficulties of traveling to Iran said, “The first problem was that they didn’t give us the visa. We had an official invitation letter from the Vahed’s Syndicate and the mission letters from ITF and ITUC.  We didn’t want to play hide and seek, but we forced to enter as a tourist.” Sarto approved it. He continued by describing the achievements of their mission to Iran: ‘We knocked every door in order, at least, to visit one of the authorities, but none of them accepted it. On Wednesday, we knocked the  door of the labor minister’s house because we wanted him to clarify many vague issues for us, and we heard a negative answer again.  None of the ministry deputies and general directors and etc., didn’t respond us. Even we sent our request to the international relation of the Foreign Ministry, but we haven’t had any visit yet.”  When he answered to my question, whether or not they would travel to Iran again, “We will travel to Iran again”, I asked, “How are you sure that you won’t face with these problems again?” He answered, “We will report all these to ITF and ITUC in order they solve the problems at the highest level with the authorities in Iran. Definitely our next mission will be at the high level, so we will deal seriously, without any hide and seek, with the labor issues.” Sarto, after his colleagues finished his words, in response to the question, whether workers in the other countries faced with these problems, said, “Yes, not only in the undeveloped countries but also in the developed countries workers deal with these problems; such as Japan. For this reason trade unions’ demands form differently in all countries. Iran as a rich and beautiful country has workers with their own problems.” Rustandi and Sarto, both, think that forming union, joining the international federations, and trying to get their trade’s rights is the way of solving workers’ problems. They repeated these words so many times, and it made me to ask them at the end of the interview, “so, when do workers work?’ Rustandi answered before his colleague and said, “You proposed a very important issue. Workers should work and they are not able always to follow up their rights. In this way, the other social strata should help them.” These workers’ rights defenders, on last Wednesday, said good bye to  dozens of  workers, who are now a little more  hopeful, and flight to home after a short trip, and a visit with Mr. Osanloo’s and Mr. Madadi’s Families. 

Visiting Indonesians was useless

The international Trade Unions Officials complained the labor authorities, rather were upset with Osanloo and Madadid’s attorneys. Yousef Mowlaie and Parviz Khorshid didn’t visit with Rustandi and Sarto. Mowlaiee about this decision said to Etemad Melli reporter, “They haven’t any position that we wanted to meet them. If one day judiciary officials ask us with which permission we met them, what shall we say?” When I reminded them that they came officially on behalf of the International Workers’ Federation, he said, “According to law, a person has a position who is allowed to interfere and follow up the case.” It was said that the attorneys had set conditions for meeting with Indonesians, and Mowlaie pointed out, “If they agreed that we met in a press conference, we wouldn’t refuse it, but private meeting wasn’t acceptable for us.” Mowlaie, also, said, “It is not clarified in Law whether or not this type of meeting is forbidden.” In response to the question, whether this meeting would affect on the file procedure, he said, “No, not at all. If we thought that there would be any positive impacts, and it would facilitate the release of our clients, we have never lost the moment. The representatives were not in the position to have impact on the cases. They only helped the families of detainees and activists to calm down.”  As the attorney of the imprisoned workers of Vahed Company said if these representatives have had capacity to influence on cases they would play their roles without coordinating with the defending lawyers. He believes that the responsibility of the defending lawyer makes him to work within the framework that is identified by law. Mowlaie about the case of his clients mentioned that even the indictment has been issued for Mr. Madadi, but he doesn’t know about the charges against him: “Osanloo’s case is at the primary investigation, so I don’t have access to his file. Madadi, same as my other client, is in Evin prison based on the detention order, but the indictment against him is ready to be sent to court.” In response to the question about Madadi’s charges, he said, “I have no idea about my client’s charges; I probably will be informed in the court tomorrow.”

http://www.roozna.com/Images/Pdf/13_22_7_1386.Pdf