Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 00:21:04 -0500


on.village.Virginia.EDU (8.7.6/8.6.6) with ESMTP id SAA39219 for <marxism-news-AT-jefferson.village.virginia.edu>; Fri, 7 Mar 1997 18:27:19 -0500
From: itusc-AT-gn.apc.org
Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 23:07:36 GMT
To: labr.newsline-AT-conf.gn.apc.org, icem-AT-geo2.poptel.org.uk,
        marxism-news-AT-jefferson.village.virginia.edu,
Subject: Iranian Oil Workers Killed (more)
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transcript of reply from ITUSC to Iranian Embassy response, referred to in
earlier message. Please note the second para. which provides names of two of
the dead.

Mr. Mahmoud Khani,
7 March 1997
International Relations Section,
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
16, Prince's Gate,
London. SW7 1PT

Your Ref. FEBKHA 1/2313-01-7/23928


Dear Mr. Khani,

Iranian Oil Workers Dispute

Thank you for your letter dated 26 February, in reply to ours of 25 January
under the above heading.

We received news on 2 March from reliable sources in Iran that at least two
of the demonstrators referred to in our earlier communication, have since
died of the injuries that were inflicted upon them in detention. We know
that one of them was Gholam Barzegar. Oil workers informed us that at least
two others have died whilst being tortured, namely Hashem Kamely and another
worker whose name is not yet known to us. Only a few days ago, oil workers
>from Iran informed us that more than 50 oil workers were arrested and taken
to unknown prisons since when their families have received no contact from
them, therefore their current situation is unclear.

Even as this letter is being prepared, we have learned from Iran that oil
workers from the Abadan Oil Refinery have been arrested and are currently
being transferred to Tehran gaols.

Your letter is headed " Protest by Workers of the Tehran Refinery" and it
acknowledges that there has been a "recent protest by workers of the oil
refinery in Tehran", that the protest concerned "their low wages" and that
"workers at the Tehran Refinery protested at their low wages, demanding that
the oil ministry take steps to solve their pay and welfare problems".

The ITUSC rejects these points:-

* First, the protest is not 'recent'; in fact the protests go back to the
period just after the Revolution in 1978-79 and had intensified especially
after the Gulf War;

* Second, it was not only the workers of the refinery in Tehran who
'protested' but workers of many other refineries, namely Shiraz, Tabriz and
Isfahan, were equally involved in this dispute. In the period up to the
demonstration, workers of the oil pipelines, Iranian national gas and Tehran
distribution centre were also involved. Pretending that the 'protest' had
quite a narrow base, namely Tehran refinery, the Islamic government is as
usual lying.

* Third, low wages and welfare conditions are important issues in this
dispute, but they are not the principal ones. The main dispute was over the
right to organise and to form independent, workers' organisations. On 5 and
6 February, all oil refineries and the other industries mentioned above,
elected representatives who went to Tehran to form their national
organisation, which was dissolved by the Iranian government on 7 February.
It forced the representatives to return to their cities. The demand for the
right to collective bargaining was the second, crucial demand which
obviously presupposes a form of organisation among workers. This has been
totally rejected by the government. (There were other demands as well).

Your letter states further that there had been negotiations, and that the
problem is solved. The truth is that there have been no negotiations
concerning the basic demands of the workers. The government has told the
workers that collective bargaining and forming independent organisations is
out of the question. And the protest, contrary to your statement, was and is
not ended.

Your letter claims that the workers and the oil ministry "had reached an
agreement after which the workers returned to their work". The government
has dissolved the founding meeting of 7 February, sent back the workers to
their cities, and after the mass rally outside the oil ministry, has
injured, imprisoned, tortured and - while torturing- killed workers. That is
not an agreement at all. And after all, if there is an agreement why then
are all the oil refineries under a state of siege from the Islamic militia?

In the above circumstances, you will not be surprised to learn that we are
appalled at your government's actions and are wholly unimpressed by your
attempt to mislead us by your response to our letter. We now not only demand
the right of freedom of association and the recognition of the oil workers
right to collective bargaining and all their other legitimate demands, but
must also demand that the Iranian government immediately releases all those
oil workers who have been detained.

With regard to your request for information about our constructive
activities to promote the rights of British workers. We are an international
body, whose headquarters, at the moment, happens to be in Britain. We have a
proud record of defending workers throughout the world, including Britain,
>from abuses of trade union and other human rights. Your attempt to defend
the indefensible actions of your government against its own workers, does
not fill us with any confidence that you have the workers' best interests at
heart. If, however, we are mistaken you may wish to subscribe to our
International Trade Unionist Bulletin. It only costs =A38 for one copy of 10
issues or for 5 copies of ten issues =A330 and for each additional 5 copies =A312.

We ask you to kindly convey the contents of this letter to your government.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________
This is from the International Trade Union Solidarity Campaign (ITUSC) at:-
e-mail:        itusc-AT-gn.apc.org
website:  http://www.itusc.org.uk
'snail' mail:  PO Box 18, Epsom, Britain, KT18 7YR
Tel/Fax    ++44 (0) 1372 817 778
____________________________________________________________________________
____________


Keith Standring    (itusc-AT-gn.apc.org)