INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT WORKERS FEDERATION
Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadjinejad,
President of the Republic
The Presidency,
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 649 58 80
TUR/SH 18 July 2006

Dear Mr. President,
Arrest of members of the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and
Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed)
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the International
Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) protest in the strongest possible terms at the arrest of
eight members of the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company
(Sherkat-e Vahed) on Saturday 15 July and demand their immediate release.
This is just the latest in a series of arrests of members of the Sherkat-e Vahed. I have
already had to write to you on several occasions to protest at the harassment of this
legitimate trade union organisation and other serious violations of workers’ rights in Iran.
The arrests took place after the Vahed workers organised a peaceful rally in front of
the Ministry of Labour to demand the recognition of their union. The date marked the
anniversary of similar rallies last year. The union informs us the Ministry of Labour invited
the negotiating team into the building. The four members of the negotiating team, Ebrahim
Madadi, Syd Davood Razavi, Ebrahim Nowrozi Gohari, and Yagoub Salimi, were arrested
by security forces as they were leaving the building. A further four members were arrested
outside the Ministry: Naser Golami, Syd Reza Nemati Pour, Ata Baba Khani and Manochehr
Mahdavi Tabar.
The bus company workers’ attempts to organise an independent trade union and
seek official recognition of that union have met with systematic repression since the
beginning of 2005. That repression, by employers and security forces, has often been
brutal, including vicious attacks as well as arrests, including mass arrests, and dismissals.
Some of those arrested in this latest incident have faced arrest and detention before, notably
Ebrahim Madadi, the Deputy Chairperson of the union’s Executive Committee, Syd Davood
Razavi and Yagoub Salimi of the negotiating team, and Naser Golami, another member of
the union’s Executive Committee. Meanwhile the union’s leader Mansour Osanloo, has
remained in detention at the Evin prison since his arrest in December 2005, despite repeated
assurances from your government that every effort was being made to secure his release.
He has had only very limited access to his lawyer, and his health is now a matter of serious
concern.
I must remind you once again that as a member of the International Labour
Organisation, the Islamic Republic of Iran is under a strict obligation to respect the principles
of freedom of association and collective bargaining. The constant repression of this union
– 2 –
and the systematic harassment of its leaders and members is in clear violation of those
principles.
The Sherkat-e Vahed is a legitimate trade union representing a clear majority of the
bus company’s employees. It has widespread international support, as demonstrated by the
worldwide protests that took place on 15 February 2006 on the International Day of Trade
Union Action on Iran. Sherkat-e Vahed is also an affiliate of the International Federation of
Transport Workers.
The ICFTU and the ITF call on you to issue the appropriate instructions to your
country’s judicial and security authorities to immediately release the eight Vahed workers
detained on 15 July and to immediately release Mansour Osanloo, Chairperson of the
Sherkat-e Vahed Executive Committee. We would also urge you to use your good offices to
ensure the official recognition of Sherkat-e Vahed and the reinstatement of the 180 members
dismissed since February 2006, with compensation for unpaid wages.
Yours sincerely,
Guy Ryder
General Secretary
ICFTU
David Cockroft
General Secretary
ITF
Copies to:
– Ministry of Labour, Directorate-General of International Affairs
– Ministry of Foreign Affairs
– Mr. Juan Somavia, Director General, International Labour Office, Geneva
– Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in Geneva
– Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Brussels