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Japan's Railway Workers Support Tehran transport Workers
Japan Confederation of Railway Workers’ Unions Protests the arrest of Several hundred unionists at Sherkat-e Vahed (Tehran Bus Company.) Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadjinejad, President of the Republic The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran Fax: + 98-21-6648.06.65 2 February 2006 Dear Mr. President, Several hundred unionists and members of their family arrested at Sherkat-e Vahed (Tehran Bus Company) On behalf of Japan Confederation of Railway Workers’ Unions (JRU) which represents railway workers in Japan, I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms against the latest wave of arrests of Sherkate Vahed unionists and their relatives, as well as against the arrest of eight members of the Syndicate’s Executive Board, and the continued detention of its leader, our colleague Mansour Osanloo. The JRU has been informed that during a strike on 28 January to call for the release of Mansour Osanloo, union recognition and collective bargaining, security forces used tear gas, batons and even threatened to shoot in order to crush the strike. Reported figures vary from 400 to 1300 arrests. The many arrests, whatever the exact number, are a completely disproportionate response to legitimate industrial action. Despite some prisoner releases, most workers still remain in detention. Many workers were forced to work, beaten up or taken to prison for interrogation by security forces. About 30 workers reportedly sustained serious injuries and required medical attention. Replacement workers were hired, and threats of lay offs were made. Before the strike, on 26 January eight members of the Syndicate’s Executive Board were summoned to Court and subsequently taken to Evin Prison for detention, where Mansour Osanloo is still being held under high security, without access to a lawyer or medical care, despite his poor health condition. The continued persecution of trade unionists indicates that your government is still not prepared to meet its international obligations as a member of the ILO, in particular with respect to the principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining. I thus urge you to issue appropriate instructions to judicial and security authorities to immediately release Mr. Mansour Osanloo, as well as the many hundred other detained unionists, and to drop all charges against them and quash sentences against the Saqez union activists. I look forward to your immediate and decisive action in these matters. Yours sincerely Yuji Oda President Japan Confederation of Railway Workers’ Unions Copies : - Mr. Guy Ryder, General Secretary, ICFTU, Brussels - Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva - Mr. David Cockloft, General Secretary, ITF, London Posted by: IASWI (Profile) | @ Mon, 06 Feb 2006 06:50:13 +0100 |