ITF seeks Iranian workers' release

Ridwan Max Sijabat , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 03/08/2008 12:11 PM | World

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) organized a labor demonstration in 135 countries on Thursday, in solidarity with two Iranian unionists jailed without trial.

In Jakarta, up to 200 transportation workers demonstrated outside the Iranian Embassy, urging the Indonesian government to lobby Iran for the activists' release.

Transportation workers filed petitions with Iranian embassies around the world calling for Iran to respect international human rights agreements and comply with ILO conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Chairman of the Tehran Transport Trade Union Mansour Osanloo and Kurdistan labor union leader Mahmoud Salehi have been jailed since their arrests in March and June last year. Osanloo was allegedly abducted at an ILO meeting in Geneva, while Salehi was jailed for leading an anti-government labor strike.

Despite increasing international pressure, Iran will not release the two unionists, who both reportedly have serious health problems.

Indonesian transportation workers called on Indonesia to suspend trade ties with Iran if it did not respect workers' rights.

"The President should postpone his planned state visit to Iran until Iranian authorities significantly improve labor conditions," secretary-general of the Indonesian Seafarers Union (KPI) Sony Pattiselano said after handing over a petition to local staff at the Iranian Embassy.

In London, where the ITF is holding a four-day international congress to discuss global labor issues, participants lodged their petition with the Iranian Embassy in the city.

They also called on democratic countries to impose pressure on Iran to improve labor conditions in the country.

ITF representative in Jakarta Hanafi Rustandi, who also protested at the Iranian Embassy in London, said the ITF congress had decided to deliver a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asking Indonesia push for the unionists' release.

"As a Muslim country, Indonesia has been asked to play an important role in persuading Iran to repair labor conditions," he told The Jakarta Post.

Secretary of the ITF's Land Transport Union, Mac Urata, said the ITF and the International Trade Union Confederation would push for a global blockade of Iranian transportation worldwide if Tehran declined to respond to global pressure.

"Workers would not service Iranian transport interests in the ports of about 135 countries," Urata said in a press release.

The ITF welcomed Australia's support of the international action day and the global pressure on Iran, which has ratified ILO conventions on international labor standards and freedom of association, he said

Quoting a letter from Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, Urata said the Australian government had protested the arrest and detention of the two Iranian unionists.

"The Australian government is fully committed to the core international labor standards enshrined in the ILO's 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work," Utara said, reading from the letter.

Comments (0) | Post comment

A | A | A |