While Ahmedinejad celebrates Iran taking a step towards nuclear weapons and the Pentagon contemplates whether it should use its own nukes to prevent it, the press has paid little attention to social struggles in Iran. Despite the repression of the Teheran busworkers' strike in January and a legal ban on strikes, a wave of strikes has been taking place across the country. Details can be found here.
Over 50% of the population is living below the official poverty line, despite Ahmedinejad's promises to improve living standards when he was elected. Instead the concerns of the Islamist regime are with monitoring the whole country's SMS text messages not just so that it can arrest political dissidents but also track down those making jokes about the president. (See here.)
Meanwhile many of the busworkers who struck have been sacked. The Worker-communist Party of Iran issued the following bulletin with up-to-date news and an appeal for financial support:
Bus workers step up protests as more strikers are confirmed sacked; Hayat
Gheibi released following a hunger strike
Mansoor Hayat Gheibi, member of the executive board of Tehran bus workers'
union, was released yesterday following several days of hunger strike.
Although out of prison once on 19th March, along with a number of other
colleagues, Hayat Gheibi was re-arrested shortly afterwards. Last week he
began a hunger strike in protest at his continued detention.
However, union leader Mansoor Ossanlou continues to be detained since 22
December 2005 without any charges or access to a lawyer. He is suffering
from a number of medical conditions, including a newly contracted skin
disease.
Meanwhile the bus workers have called for another day of action tomorrow,
Wednesday 12 April, in front of the offices of the state-owned Vahed bus
company to press for the release of Ossanlou and reinstatement of up to
1,000 laid-off workers.
These workers remain locked out without any pay since their release
following powerful worldwide protests by international trade unions and
human rights organisations. On 9 March the 'termination of contracts' of 46
workers - most union activists - was announced (Update 19). Also, last
Wednesday, 5th April, the workers, protesting outside the bus company's
headquarters, were told that another 116 workers have been formally sacked,
though no names were released.
A 'disciplinary committee' is reportedly working its way through a long list
of workers to be fired for their part in the strike of 28th January. The
strike had been called to press for the release of Mansoor Ossanlou,
recognition of the bus workers' union and collective bargaining.
Letters of protest may be sent to the President of the Islamic Republic,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir . Please copy to us for
our info and further distribution.
The locked-out workers and their families are in urgent need of financial
support. Please contribute to Tehran Bus Workers Relief Fund at any of the
bank accounts below, notifying us at the same time for an acknowledgement:
NatWest, England Account no: 49606174 Sort code: 600738
Sparkasse, Germany Konto Nr11271061 BLZ 29050101
Postbank, Eindhoven, Netherlands Bank rekening: 7299850
Nordea Bank, Sweden Konto nr: 4001184542
Co-ordinator: Shahla Daneshfar (shahla_daneshfar@yahoo.com)