Cartoon by Assad Bina Khahi

Iran’s Government Should Respect—Not Crush—Workers’ Rights

Center for Human Rights in Iran: On the eve of International Workers’ Day, state security forces in Iran have been summoning, arresting and harassing activists to prevent them from protesting on May Day. Yet labor rights advocates, who are either jailed or face state violence for peacefully raising their voices, continue to demand their rights.

“Workers all over Iran are facing months of unpaid wages and denied access to benefits, yet instead of listening to their legitimate demands, state forces focus only on silencing them,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“The Iranian government should abide by its domestic and international obligations requiring it to allow peaceful protest,” he added, “And international rights groups including the International Labor Organization should call on the Iranian authorities to respect workers’ fundamental rights.”

Iran is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which mandates in Articles 21 and 22 freedom of association and guarantees the right to form trade unions, to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which guarantees in Article 8 the right of workers to form or join trade unions and protects their right to strike, and to the International Labor Union’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles, which also guarantees these rights.

According to Article 27 of Iran’s Constitution, “Public gatherings and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam.” Yet peaceful labor activism is treated as a national security offense in the Islamic Republic. Independent labor unions are not recognized, strikers are often fired and risk arrest, and labor leaders are prosecuted under catchall national security charges and sentenced to long prison terms >>>