To International federations of free trade unions
To all workers’ organisations and unions
24th January 05
Dear friends
On 23 January the textile workers of Foomanat, started a strike to protest against late payment of their wages. They have not received their wages for more than 11 months and on several other occasions they have demanded the payments of their wages but the management has always ignored them. This time in order to be heard by as many people as possible, they closed the high road between cities Rasht and Fooma and held a picket line there. They were brutally attacked by government’s security forces and were beaten up so badly that some of them ended up in hospital for their injuries.
In addition we have been informed that on the same day, Iranian government has attacked the picket lines of teachers who are on strike for better working conditions. Government’s security forces have surrounded the schools, where the picket lines were held, and the teachers were threatened and asked to go back to work. The strike has been planned for three days. Teachers have been long fighting for demands including better pay conditions, housing welfare and withdrawal of any discriminatory regulations. All local authorities, including the mayor, the chief commander of security forces and education authorities have been threatening and pressurizing teachers to finish the strike and go back to work.
We call upon you to defend worker’s right to organise and strike and to protest against violent suppression of workers in Iran. We assure you that your protest letters to Iranian authorities will be effective in defeating the government and a very great help in workers’ struggles for their rights.
With kind regards
Kazem Nikhah
Secretary
Worker –communist party of Iran - organisation abroad