Iranian workers protest ILO conference
Iranian workers' organisations have called on their supporters worldwide to assist their demand to bar Iranian government representatives from an International Labour Organisation conference, scheduled to begin in Geneva beginning on May 30.
In an open letter to ILO delegates, the Worker Communist Party of Iran (WCPI) has condemned the Iranian government's new industrial law, which exempts small businesses from minimum pay and working conditions requirements, places a blanket ban on the right to organise unions or strike, and denies women's right to equal employment opportunities and pay. The Iranian government is a routine violator of ILO conventions, the party states.
Iran will be represented at the ILO conference by representatives of the Islamic Councils, who the WCPI describe as "anti-labour professionals", and by labour minister Hossein Kamali.
The party has also demanded that the ILO expel Kamali from its directorate, to which he was elected last year. It is planning a demonstration outside the conference venue.
Supporters are asked to write a letter to the International Labour Organisation asking that it demand Iran rescind its anti-labour law and meet its ILO obligations. Fax your letter to (02) 96309345.