Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO365, November 2012

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 88. This case concerns allegations from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Association (IUF) that several officers of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Workers’ Union had been arrested, convicted and handed down prison sentences in connection with the organization of a strike in 2007 and the creation of a union in 2008. The officers concerned were also dismissed from the Haft Tapeh sugar plantation and refinery. The Committee examined this case at its June 2011 meeting [see 360th Report, paras 808–844] and on that occasion it formulated the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee expects that the Government will deploy all efforts for the rapid amendment of the labour legislation in a manner so as to bring it into full conformity with the principles of freedom of association, by ensuring that workers may freely come together without government interference, and to form organizations of their own choosing, and requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to amend article 131 of the Labour Law.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that any workers who had been imprisoned in connection with the organizing and carrying out of an industrial action, and the creation of a trade union in June 2008, is paid adequate compensation for the damages suffered. It further urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the prohibition to engage in trade union activities imposed on Messrs Ali Nejati, Feridoun Nikoufard, Ghorban Alipour, Mohammed Heydari Mehr, Jalil Ahmadi, Rahim Beshag, Reza Rakhshan and any other person is immediately lifted and that the union is allowed to function. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the steps taken in this regard.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to ensure the application of freedom of association principles with regard to the police intervention during the course of the strike and once again requests the Government to provide a copy of the instruction on the management and control of labour-related and trade union protests and demonstrations that it was elaborating.
   • (d) The Committee requests the Government to confirm that Messrs Ali Nejati, Feridoun Nikoufard, Ghorban Alipour, Mohammed Heydari Mehr and Jalil Ahmadi have been reinstated in their posts without loss of pay and are paid compensation for the damages suffered. It requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (e) The Committee urges the Government to drop the charges against Messrs Reza Rakhshan and Mohammad Olyaifard and to provide it with detailed information concerning their status.
2. 89. In a communication dated 5 December 2011, the ITUC indicates that Ali Nejati, Feridoun Nikoufard, Ghorban Alipour, Mohammed Heydari Mehr and Reza Rakhshan have not been reinstated, some of them have been expelled from their homes and the compensation recommended by the Committee has not been offered or paid.
3. 90. In a communication dated 15 March 2012, the Government indicates, in response to recommendation (a), that the Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare had called for a tripartite meeting to be held to discuss amendments to the Labour Code. Workers’ and employers’ most representative organizations had submitted a bill to the Government for submission to Parliament, after consulting, among others, other workers and employers’ organizations, independent labour consultants and academics. The Government has been waiting since September 2011 for the final comments of the social partners on the proposed amendments, which includes amendments to Article 131 and a provision recognizing the principles of freedom of association and multiplicity of workers’ organizations. The Government indicates that it hopes to receive final observations on this draft by June 2012. In the meantime, the Government suggested that the contending workers may wish, at their discretion, to proceed to establish a new provincial trade union or a union based on their industry orientation at the level of the province.
4. 91. In response to recommendation (b), the Government points to Article 18 of the Labour Law which states that if the detention of the worker has been due to a complaint of the employer and in the event that the Dispute Settlement Board finds the worker not guilty of the attributed charges, the employer is legally obliged, in addition to the damages and compensation ruled by the court, to also provide for the worker’s wages, benefits, etc., due to him/her during the detention period. All the workers listed in recommendation (b) of the Committee brought their cases before the Board which ruled for their reinstatement to their work posts with a new contract of employment and for due compensation of the damages they had sustained. All, apart from Mr Feridon Nikoufard, appealed this decision as they insisted that their reinstatement should be in the form of the permanent contract that they used to have. The High Tribunal, which has the final say in these matters, agreed with the Board’s decision.
5. 92. Concerning recommendation (c), the Government indicates that a Code of Practice on the Administration of Labour Demonstrations and Assemblies had been approved by the National Security Council on 14 November 2011 and has now come into force. According to the Government, its Article 2 requires police and disciplinary forces to ensure protection of workers’ assemblies and demonstrations. In order to coordinate necessary arrangements with other relevant bodies however, organizers of an industrial action are required to submit a written request specifying the time, place and purpose of their action. This request should be submitted to the Office of the General Governor of the respective city at least seven days prior to the action. The Code also obliges the operating police forces to strictly abide by the rules and regulations stipulated in the Police Code of Conduct in respect of dealing with peaceful assemblies and demonstrations as well as deployment of appropriate anti-riot equipment. The Security Council of each province, city and town where assemblies or demonstrations are held shall rule if the assembly is peaceful or not. In its article 6, the Code reiterates the need for training of the operating police forces dealing with workers’ assemblies and demonstrations by the “respective international organizations”, if any, and requires the Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare (MCLSW) to be the focal point for arranging such training. The Government would welcome the engagement of the Committee in this regard. Finally, the Code calls for special courts that are trained and familiar with fundamental principles and rights at work to hear cases involving trade unionists.
6. 93. With regards to recommendation (e), the Government indicates that all charges against Mr Reza Rakhshan have been officially dropped and Haft Tapeh sugar plantation and refinery has accepted to reinstate him with a new employment contract. Mr Olyaifard was set free in 2011 and “is now at large”. The Government indicates that his earlier prosecution had apparently nothing to do with his function as the lawyer of the Haft Tapeh Plantation as he was prosecuted on the ground of breaching the provisions of the Code of Conduct of Attorneys at Law concerning disclosure of clients’ files.
7. 94. In a communication dated 22 May 2012, the Government informs that, after a basic agreement between Messrs Behrooz Nikoufard, Feridoun Nikoufard, Mohammed Heydari Mehr and Ghorban Alipour and the Haft Tapeh sugar plantation and refinery, they had restarted their work and the complaints against them were withdrawn.
8. 95. In another communication dated 30 May 2012, the Government highlights the commitment of the Minister of the MCLSW and his entrenched adherence to the fundamental principles and rights at work as well as the flexibility and understanding shown by the judiciary, which brought about the reinstatement of the workers who had been dismissed from the Haft Tapeh sugar plantation and refinery.
9. 96. The Government indicates that although in the remaining cases, the Dispute Settlement Board and other labour conflict management bodies did not recognize any apparent excuse for the dismissal of workers on the ground of their trade unions activities, and notwithstanding that it was not incumbent on the employer to reinstate the concerned workers, it had requested the employer to adopt all reasonable steps to ensure that the workers receive full compensation for their days off work without delay. In the meantime, thanks to the collaboration of the General Governor of Khuzestan province, the Director General of the MCLSW in the region and the employer who conceded constructively to provide for their return to their posts upon completion of the administrative stages, the workers are on the verge of being reinstated.
10. 97. The Committee takes note of this information. The Committee expects that amendments to the Labour Law will bring the labour legislation into full conformity with the principles of freedom of association by ensuring that workers may freely come together without government interference, and to form organizations of their own choosing. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the adoption of the draft Labour Law and to send the Committee a copy as soon as it is adopted. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of a Code of Practice on the Administration of Labour Demonstrations and Assemblies and requests a copy as well.
11. 98. The Committee once again requests the Government to inform it of any compensation for damages suffered paid to any workers who had been imprisoned in connection with the organizing and carrying out of an industrial action, and the creation of a trade union in June 2008. The Committee understands from the Government’s communication that charges against Messrs Behrooz Nikoufard, Feridoun Nikoufard, Mohammed Heydari Mehr and Ghorban Alipour have been lifted, and that this includes the lifting of the prohibition to engage in trade union activities. However, it urges the Government once again to take the necessary measures to ensure that the prohibition to engage in trade union activities imposed on Messrs Ali Nejati, Jalil Ahmadi, Rahim Beshag, Reza Rakhshan and any other person is immediately lifted and that the union is allowed to function. The Committee requests the Government to indicate all steps taken in this regard.
12. 99. The Committee notes that according to a 5 December 2011 communication from the ITUC, Ali Nejati, Feridoun Nikoufard, Ghorban Alipour, Mohammed Heydari Mehr and Reza Rakhshan have not been reinstated, some of them have been expelled from their homes and compensation has not been offered or paid. It notes that according to a communication from the Government dated 30 May 2012, some of the dismissed workers were “on the verge of being reinstated”. The Committee requests the Government to specify which workers have now been reinstated and to confirm that they have not lost any pay and that they were compensated for the damages suffered. The Committee considers it of particular concern that these workers were apparently rehired with new contracts and that the permanent nature of their prior contracts is no longer applied to them. It requ3ests the Government to indicate whether they have now been reinstated to their position as at the time of dismissal. The Committee further requests the Government to respond without delay to the allegation that some of the workers have been expelled from their homes.
13. 100. The Committee understands that all charges against Mr Reza Rakhshan, the union’s public relations officer, have been dropped. The Committee understands as well that Mr Mohammad Olyaifard, the lawyer of the union, has been released in 2011 and that according to the Government, the charges against him had nothing to do with his activities as the lawyer of the union. The Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the judgment.