Interim Report - Report No 360, June 2011

1. 782. The Committee last examined this case in May 2010, when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body [see 357th Report, paras 677–692 approved by the Governing Body at its 308th Session].
2. 783. The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 18 March 2011.
3. 784. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not ratified either the Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 785. In its previous examination of the case, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 357th Report, para. 692]:
   • (a) The Committee welcomes the efforts by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs to obtain a pardon for SVATH President Mansour Osanloo and expresses the firm expectation that these developments will lead to Mr Osanloo’s imminent release from prison. Recalling, moreover, that it had previously concluded that Mr Osanloo’s detention from 22 December 2005 to 9 August 2006 and the treatment received during this period constitute not only interference with his trade union activities, but an extremely grave violation of his civil liberties as well, the Committee once again expects the Government to carry out the necessary independent investigation in this regard as a matter of urgency. Additionally, it once again expects the Government to provide full particulars as to the current state of Mr Osanloo’s health.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether Mr Madadi is still in prison and, if so, to take the necessary steps to ensure his immediate release. It further requests the Government to institute an independent investigation without delay into the allegations of ill-treatment to which he had been subjected while in detention. More generally, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of both Mr Osanloo and Mr Madadi and to keep it informed of the steps taken in this regard.
   • (c) The Committee once again urges the Government to ensure that the charges against Ata Babakhani, Naser Gholami, Abdolreza Tarazi, Golamreza Golam Hosseini, Gholamreza Mirzaee, Ali Zad Hosein, Hasan Karimi, Seyed Davoud Razavi, Yaghob Salimi, Ebrahim Noroozi Gohari, Homayoun Jaberi, Saeed Torabian, Abbas Najand Koodaki and Hayat Gheibi are immediately dropped and that, if any of them are still being detained, that they be immediately released. Furthermore, the Committee once again urges the Government to provide any court judgments rendered in respect of these workers.
   • (d) The Committee must firmly insist that the legislation be brought into conformity with freedom of association principles, particularly those concerning trade union multiplicity, in the very near future and urges the Government to provide detailed information in this respect. The Committee further once again urges the Government to deploy all efforts as a matter of urgency so as to allow for trade union pluralism, including through the de facto recognition of the SVATH union pending the introduction of the legislative reforms.
   • (e) The Committee calls on the Government as a matter of urgency to fully recognize the right of public protest and expression as an integral corollary of freedom of association. It expresses the firm expectation that the Government will, in the very near future, avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office to ensure that the principles in the code of practice for managing and redeveloping trade union demonstrations, as well as the rules and regulations governing the holding of demonstrations and assemblies, guarantee freedom of association rights, including the right of workers’ organizations to carry out peaceful demonstrations without fear of arrest, detention or indictment by the authorities for engaging in such activity.
   • (f) The Committee requests the Government to transmit a detailed report of the findings of the SGIO and the Headquarters for the Protection of Human Rights into the allegations of workplace harassment during the period of the union’s founding, from March to June 2005, as soon as they are produced. It once again requests the Government, in the light of the information revealed by these investigations, to take the necessary measures to ensure that all employees at the company are effectively protected against any form of discrimination related to their trade union membership or their trade union activities.
   • (g) The Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the 13 trade unionists found to have been wrongfully dismissed by the Tehran Dispute Settlement Board – and all other trade unionists who have not yet been reinstated and were found to have been the subject of anti-union discrimination – are fully reinstated in their positions without loss of pay.
   • (h) The Committee once again requests the Government to immediately institute a full and independent judicial inquiry into the attacks on union meetings in May and June 2005, in order to clarify the facts, determine responsibilities, prosecute and punish those responsible and thus prevent the repetition of such acts. It further requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard and provide a copy of the court’s judgment in the action initiated by the union concerning these attacks once it is handed down.
   • (i) The Committee, noting that three years have elapsed since its first examination of this case, and noting furthermore the seriousness of the matters contained therein – in particular the allegations of grave violations of civil liberties against numerous individuals – calls the Governing Body’s special attention to the extremely grave situation relating to the trade union climate in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
   • (j) The Committee calls the Governing Body’s attention to the extreme seriousness and urgent matter of this case.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 786. In its communication of 18 March 2011, the Government indicates that, in order to enhance social dialogue and strengthened trade unions activities, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has undertaken pervasive efforts at provincial and national levels to amend its regulations and labour policies for the promotion of independent trade unions and employers’ organizations, and to comply with the recommendations of the Committee.
2. 787. Broadly, the Government indicates that it embarked on a series of practical initiatives to promote sound labour relations and mentioned among its achievements:
   • – a circular from the Supreme Chief of the Judiciary to all relevant departments and courts throughout the country stressing the need to educate and upgrade judges and judicial staff on labour relations conflicts;
   • – the revision of a number of rulings and verdicts issued by courts on cases of workers arrested following protests in Khuzestan, Kurdistan and Tehran provinces;
   • – the placement of Mansour Osanloo, President of the Tehran Vahed Bus Company (SVATH) union, and Ibrahim Madadi, Vice-President of the SVATH, on a list of amnesty to seek their freedom through the Office of the Supreme Chief of the Judiciary;
   • – a comparative examination of the existing laws and regulations so as to bring them into conformity with ILO Conventions; and
   • – a proposal on the formation of a selective committee to exchange ideas on executive approaches on open cases of workers and employers under investigation.
3. 788. Regarding the Committee’s request for Mr Osanloo’s full particulars as to his current state, as well as its request to take the necessary steps to ensure the immediate release of Mr Ibrahim Madadi, the Government states that it has called for a special sitting of the Parole and Pardon Committee to examine the possibility of granting amnesty to a number of workers, including both Mr Osanloo and Mr Madadi. In this regard, the Government confirmed that their names have been duly included in the list to be examined by the Amnesty Committee through letters Nos 9000/6349/100 and 9000/6350/100 dated 10 May 2010 respectively and that their pardon is presently under consideration. The Government also states that, like any other inmates, they have the legitimate constitutional right to designate lawyers to defend their cases before court. In fact, the two have already assigned their lawyers and their cases have been fairly and impartially heard on their merits and the punishments levied against them were attributed to breach of civil law. Moreover, they still have the right by law to lodge an appeal to the higher court.
4. 789. Furthermore, with regard to the Committee’s request to provide full particulars as to the current state of Mr Osanloo’s health, the Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs met with the High Council for Human Rights to discuss the alleged infringements upon the rights of Mr Osanloo during his detention. It states that the members of the Council acknowledged the evidence provided by the authorities that Mr Osanloo receives adequate medical assistance, when and where necessary, that his physical condition seems not to have been aggravated during imprisonment and that whenever he complained about his heart problems he was treated in specialized hospitals outside the prison. Other testimonies from Mr Osanloo’s wife and lawyer confirmed his stable physical condition, despite sporadic feebleness.
5. 790. The action of the Ministry of Labour has gone far beyond its legal jurisdiction and constituency in trying to settle the cases of dismissed or detained workers from the SVATH. Despite some ambiguities and suspicion as to the real intention of some workers still in detention, the Ministry of Labour has constantly approached different governmental structures to find a legal way to expedite their freedom.
6. 791. The Government reiterates that it has approached the respective representatives of the judicial branch through several meetings to seek possible means that could help settle the cases of trade union activists of the SVATH. The Government underlines that the new Minister of Labour undertook to settle the cases by arranging a meeting with the Supreme Chief of the Judiciary. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs was assigned to closely follow each individual case of the detained workers on their merits with the High Council for Human Rights. This initiative led the court to address controversial labour disputes with a reasonable approach taking into account requirements of relevant ILO Conventions, in particular Convention No. 87.
7. 792. With regard to other SVATH workers, the Government indicates that it has conducted investigations on the complaints lodged by the workers and the verdicts issued by the Dispute Settlement Board upon examination of their cases. A number of workers have decided to lodge complaints before the Tribunal of the Administrative Justice based on article 18 of the Law of Administrative Justice. As a result, the indictment of eight workers by the court of first hearing were later abrogated by the Tribunal of Administrative Justice which ruled for their reinstatement, due compensation and reimbursement of due wages and benefits for the time off work. However, the Government also indicates that – to its profound regret – for a number of cases, the plea for the abrogation of the ruling of the Dispute Settlement Board was not approved by the Tribunal which found the dismissals to be in line with article 27 of the Labour law. Therefore the Tribunal upheld the dismissals for the following workers: Soltan Ali Shekari, Gholamreza Khani, Gholamreza Fazeli, Vahab Mohammadi Zangi, Hossein Alizadeh, Nematollah Amirkhani and Yaqoub Salimi. The Government adds that throughout the legal proceedings, it did not spare its efforts to make sure that the dismissed workers received the wage due in arrears. Moreover the Government states that it would help by all means the workers to get back to work.
8. 793. Regarding the recommendation of the Committee urging the Government to ensure that the charges against a number of trade union activists are immediately dropped and that, if any of them are still being detained, that they be immediately released, the Government provides full particulars concerning the release of Ata Babakhani, Naser Gholami, Abdolreza Tarazi, Golamreza Golam Hosseini, Gholamreza Mirzaee, Ali Zad Hosein, Hasan Karimi, Seyed Davoud Razavi, Yaghob Salimi, Ebrahim Noroozi Gohari, Homayoun Jaberi, Saeed Torabian, Abbas Najand Koodaki and of Hayat Gheibi for whom the Government specifies that there was no file against the latter.
9. 794. Concerning the Committee’s expectations that the legislation will be brought into conformity with freedom of association principles, in particular to allow for trade union pluralism, the Government indicates that an initial and concrete step toward this objective is its support to the first Confederation of Iranian Workers’ Trade Union, which took shape in October 2010 with the participation of 264 workers’ unions. This Confederation constitutes the second national institution of workers’ union along with the High Assembly of Workers’ Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran founded in 2009. The Confederation was officially registered as a workers’ organization with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
10. 795. With regard to the draft code of practice on the management and control of trade union and labour-related protests, the Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs stands at the final stage of developing directives in this respect. It also foresees the need for adequate training of the enforcement authorities and would seek the assistance of the Office in this regard.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 796. The Committee recalls that the present case that it has been examining for more than three years concerns acts of harassment against members of the Tehran Vahed Bus Company (SVATH) union, including: demotions, transfers and suspensions without pay of union members; acts of violence against trade unionists; and numerous instances of the arrest and detention of trade union leaders and members.
2. 797. With respect to Mansour Osanloo, the President of the SVATH, the Committee acknowledges the continuing efforts by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs to obtain the granting of a pardon for Mr Osanloo. It notes that the Head of the Judiciary has accepted the Minister’s request for such a pardon which, according to the Government, is presently under consideration. The Committee deeply deplores that more than five years have elapsed since his conviction and despite the Committee’s regular call for his release, he remains in prison. The Committee deeply regrets that one year has now elapsed since the Ministry’s laudable initiative to obtain Mr Osanloo’s pardon and urges the competent authorities to take the necessary steps for his immediate release from prison and the dropping of any remaining charge. Recalling, moreover, that it had previously concluded that Mr Osanloo’s detention from 22 December 2005 to 9 August 2006 and the treatment received during this period constituted not only interference with his trade union activities, but an extremely grave violation of his civil liberties as well, the Committee once again expects the Government to carry out the necessary independent investigation in this regard, having the confidence of all parties concerned, as a matter of urgency.
3. 798. Furthermore, while taking note of the Government’s statement that Mr Osanloo receives adequate medical assistance, when and where necessary, that the High Council for Human Rights acknowledged that his physical condition seems not to have been aggravated during imprisonment and that testimonies from Mr Osanloo’s wife and lawyer confirmed his stable physical condition, the Committee expects that the Government will take all necessary measures to provide proper medical attention to Mr Osanloo and considers that the ongoing allegations in relation to the state of his health further attest to the need to ensure his immediate release.
4. 799. With respect to Mr Ibrahim Madadi, Vice-President of the SVATH, the Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has called for a special sitting of the Parole and Pardon Committee to examine the possibility of granting him amnesty. In this regard, according to the Government, Mr Madadi has been duly included in the list to be examined by the Amnesty Committee through letter No. 9000/6350/100 dated 10 May 2010 and such pardon is presently under consideration. The Committee, while expressing the firm hope that these developments will lead to Mr Madadi’s imminent release from prison and the dropping of any remaining charge, deeply deplores the fact that he would have served much more than the two years prison term for which he was initially sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in October 2007, this in spite of the Committee’s systematic recommendation for his release. The Committee expects that Mr Madadi will have his rights restored and that he will be compensated for the damage suffered.
5. 800. Furthermore, the Committee deeply regrets that the Government has once again failed to provide any indications concerning the allegations of ill-treatment to which Mr Madadi had been subjected while in detention, and once again urges the Government to institute without delay an independent investigation into this serious matter and to keep it informed in this regard.
6. 801. With regard to pending cases of trade union activists of the SVATH, the Committee takes note of the actions of the Ministry of Labour in trying to settle the cases of dismissed or detained workers with other governmental structures, and that the Ministry was assigned to closely follow each individual case of the detained workers on their merits with the High Council for Human Rights. This initiative led the court to address controversial labour disputes with a reasonable approach taking into account requirements of relevant ILO Conventions, in particular Convention No. 87. The Committee further notes, from the Government’s report, that in seven cases of dismissed workers, the Tribunal of Administrative Justice upheld the verdict issued by the Dispute Settlement Board, while in eight other cases the indictment of eight workers by the court of first hearing were later abrogated by the Tribunal of Administrative Justice which ruled for their reinstatement, due compensation and reimbursement of due wages and benefits for the time off work.
7. 802. With regard to its previous request to the Government to ensure that the charges against a number of trade union activists are immediately dropped and that, if any of them were still detained, that they be immediately released, the Committee takes due note of the Government’s full particulars concerning the release of Ata Babakhani, Naser Gholami, Abdolreza Tarazi, Golamreza Golam Hosseini, Gholamreza Mirzaee, Ali Zad Hosein, Hasan Karimi, Seyed Davoud Razavi, Yaghob Salimi, Ebrahim Noroozi Gohari, Homayoun Jaberi, Saeed Torabian, Abbas Najand Koodaki, and for Hayat Gheibi for whom the Government specifies that there was no file against the latter. The Committee however observes from the information provided that for a number of trade unionists, in spite of their release, the Revision Court upheld the verdict issued against them by the court with reference to article 610 of the Islamic punishment Law (conspiracy to commit offences against the security of the State). In this regard, the Committee urges once again the Government to ensure without delay that trade unionists may fully exercise their freedom of association rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, without fear of sanction by the authorities, and to ensure in particular that trade unionists are not arrested or detained and that charges are not brought against them for engaging in legitimate trade union activities. Recalling that it has also been called upon to examine cases with similar serious allegations concerning employers’ organizations, the Committee wishes to emphasize that this general principle should also be fully guaranteed with respect to employers’ representatives.
8. 803. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the proposed amendments to article 131 of the Labour Law which appeared to permit trade union multiplicity, including at the workplace and national levels, and requested the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in adopting these amendments. In its latest reply, the Government indicates that an initial and concrete step toward the objective of trade union multiplicity is its support to the first Confederation of Iranian Workers’ Trade Union, which was established on 13 October 2010 with the participation of 264 workers’ unions. According to the Government, this Confederation constitutes the second national institution of workers’ union along with the High Assembly of Workers’ Representatives (HAWR) founded in 2009. It was officially registered as a workers’ organization with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The Committee observes that the Government’s reply suggests that any creation of organizations outside the existing structures remains impossible. In this respect, the Committee recalls that the principle of trade union pluralism, which the Iranian Government has been called to ensure in law and in practice on many occasions, is grounded in the right of workers to come together and form organizations of their own choosing, independently and with structures which permit their members to elect their own officers, draw up and adopt their by-laws, organize their administration and activities and formulate their programmes without interference from the public authorities and in the defence of workers’ interests. Consequently, the Committee once again urges the Government to indicate any progress made in adopting amendments to the Labour Law so as to allow for trade union pluralism and expects the Government to deploy all efforts as a matter of urgency, including through the de facto recognition of the SVATH without delay pending the introduction of the legislative reforms. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication of its repeated requests for technical assistance and training and expects that the ILO will respond positively once the necessary conditions are met to enable a mission to meet with all parties concerned in the various cases against the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including with those who continue to be detained contrary to the Committee’s repeated recommendations.
9. 804. With regard to the draft code of practice on the management and control of trade union and labour-related protests, the Committee observes that the Government merely indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs stands at the final stage of developing directives in this respect and that the need for adequate training of the enforcement authorities would lead to its seeking the assistance of the Office in this regard. While recalling that in its previous comments it noted that the code stipulates that the relevant authorities and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs are ready to exchange experiences and use the training of international institutions in the management of trade union demonstrations, the Committee calls on the Government once again as a matter of urgency to fully recognize the right of public protest and expression as an integral corollary of freedom of association. The Committee expects that the Government will avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office to ensure that the principles in the code of practice for managing and controlling trade union demonstrations, as well as the rules and regulations governing the holding of demonstrations and assemblies, fully guarantee freedom of association rights, including the right of workers’ organizations to carry out peaceful demonstrations without fear of arrest, detention or indictment by the authorities for engaging in such activity.
10. 805. While noting that the Government has once again failed to provide information with regard to the following recommendations, the Committee further recalls them, as summarized below, and urges the Government to provide full information on their implementation:
    • – The Committee requests the Government to transmit a detailed report of the findings of the State General Inspection Organization (SGIO) and the Headquarters for the Protection of Human Rights into the allegations of workplace harassment during the period of the union’s founding, from March to June 2005, as soon as they are produced. It once again requests the Government, in the light of the information revealed by these investigations, to take the necessary measures to ensure that all employees at the company are effectively protected against any form of discrimination related to their trade union membership or their trade union activities.
    • – The Committee once again requests the Government to immediately institute a full and independent judicial inquiry into the attacks on union meetings in May and June 2005, in order to clarify the facts, determine responsibilities, prosecute and punish those responsible and thus prevent the repetition of such acts. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard, as well as to provide a copy of the court’s judgment in the action initiated by the union concerning these attacks once it is handed down.
11. 806. Finally the Committee, noting that four years have elapsed since its first examination of this case, and noting furthermore the seriousness of the matters contained therein – in particular the yet unresolved grave violations of civil liberties against numerous trade unions leaders and members – calls the Governing Body’s special attention to the extremely grave situation relating to the trade union climate in the Islamic Republic of Iran.