28th November 2024

For immediate use

The Committee for the Defence of Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) is calling upon trade unions in Britain to mobilise support for oil and gas workers in Iran demanding fair treatment in their wage demands.

Workers have been protesting for the past sixteen weeks with action taking place across the oil and gas fields in the south of Iran to demand equal rights for contract workers.  In a 3,000 strong protest at the headquarters of the South Pars Complex, workers from across the industry this week came together to voice their demands for job classification and the reinstatement of Alireza Mirghaffari, their dismissed representative on the Supreme Wages Council.

The action is part of a wave of disputes across Iran which has seen nurses taking strike action as well as mineworkers and teachers.  With an estimated 60% of Iranian workers now living below the poverty line, and the regime incapable of satisfying the basic needs of the working population, sources inside Iran anticipate that protests and labour disputes will continue to grow.

The bankruptcy and corruption, endemic to the ruling theocracy in Iran, combined with the sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies in the West continue to put pressure upon working class communities in Iran.  The election of Donald Trump in the US is also a cause for great concern for the Iranian people as the pro-IsraeIi stance taken by Joe Biden is likely to be intensified under Trump.

The danger of further conflict which would impact upon the lives of the Iranian people is one which Iranian trade unions and opposition activists are seeking to avoid.  Support for workers struggles must be linked to the demands of the peace movement inside Iran to oppose war and external intervention.

CODIR General Secretary, Gawain Little, stressed this point recently stating,

“The people of Iran are suffering both as a result of a repressive internal regime but also because of the threat of war, due to actions in the international arena beyond their control.  Trade union and peace activists in Britain need to see the support for Iranian workers’ opposition to the regime and the demand for peace as two sides of the same coin and show their solidarity accordingly.”    

CODIR is calling upon the TUC in Britain and all trade union affiliates to support the ongoing struggle of Iranian workers for trade union rights and the demand for peace in the Middle East.

ENDS

Further information for Editors

Contact Information for CODIR:-

Postal Address:
B.M.CODIR
London
WC1N 3XX
UK
Website: www.codir.net
E-mail: codir_info@btinternet.com

Further information on CODIR

CODIR is the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights.  It has been established since 1981 and has consistently campaigned to expose human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CODIR has worked closely with the trade union movement in the UK, the peace movement, all major political parties and Amnesty International to press the case for an end to torture in Iran’s prisons.  Major trade unions in Britain are affiliated to CODIR and support its campaign for peace, human and democratic rights, and social justice in Iran.

CODIR has published Iran Today, its quarterly journal, since 1981, explaining the latest developments in Iran and the most effective way that the British public opinion could demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Iran.

In recent years CODIR has worked closely with Stop the War Coalition and has been vocal against any form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of the nation.