Recent issues of Iranian Workers Bulletin
Iranian Workers Bulletin Issue 11
Iranian Workers Bulletin Issue 10
Iranian Workers Bulletin Issue 9
Friends and Colleagues
24 January is the anniversary of the death of innocent workers of Khatoun Abad in Babak Shahr. In 2004 a group of miners in Khatoun Abad in Kerman province demanded job security and proper jobs, This was their right but management refused to accept their demands and this lead to an escalation of workers protests and their participation in a mass sit-in with members of their families in the mine that was their work place. Security and military forces blockaded the protest sit in and in the ensuing confrontation between the workers and military forces, a number of workers were injured, others were arrested. As news of the arrests and injuries spread in BabakShahr, a small town where most of the residents were working in Khatoun Abad mine, a wave of protests started. The widespread demonstrations of local residents on the 24 January 2004 was confronted by a military operation, with security forces and the army attacking the workers from the sky and on the ground. A number of workers were killed and many more were injured. In the days following this protests, the sate authorities tried to wash their hands from the dreadful incident. Weary of international attention and internal discontent, government authorities tried to distance themselves form the incident, 'blaming others'. Yet 3 years after the incident, no organ, no individual has been arrested, tried or charged for these dreadful events.
Workers in Khatoun Abad mine who were demanding their most basic rights were attacked and killed or injured. Were they asking for anything but job security and a job? Their response was given in the form of bullets and death. One of the achievements of the government [Iranian government] as the defender of capitalists has been the ratification of anti labour legislations and above all the anti human legislation dealing with temporary contracts and contract companies which has deprived the working class of the right to job security. The attack by the security forces against Babak Shahr workers was in defence of this legislation and the same policies has lead to many more victims. The attack on Vahed Bus workers , the arrest of hundreds of workers, making them redundant, a vicious attack on Farsh Alborz (carpet factory) workers in Babolsar, attacking Par-riss textile workers in Sanandaj, the arrest and expulsion of tens of our own fellow workers and thousand of other examples of conscious attack against workers are all examples of the continuation of the attack on Babak Shahr workers. As long as workers job security is not guaranteed, as long as anti labour legislation persists, workers will have no safety, no welfare.
On the anniversary of this tragedy, Iran Khodro workers express their condolences to the survivors and the families of the victims of this tragedy and their fellow workers. We call for the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of these crimes and all those who produced this anti-labour legislation forcing working class into temporary contracts, depriving the workers of job and life security. We, workers in Iran Khodro call for an end to all temporary contracts and abolition of all contract firms. The only way to deal workers demands is to create job security and abolition of capitalist legislation.
24 January is not just a day of solidarity with Babak Shahr workers . It is the anniversary of an onslaught on the Iranian working class to enhance capitalist exploitation. 24 January is the day of defending workers rights, defending job security. 24th of January, like other important days such as 17 Esfand (6th March) the day of the historic strike of Iran Khodro workers, 10 Tir (July) the day of Khodro Diesel workers strike and thousands of other days prove that when workers interests are in jeopardy, they fight with their lives to defend their rights. 24th January is a golden day in the history of the Iranian working class and it is our duty to commemorate this day and to raise the flag of the working class movement. For this reason, we will sit together in the canteen of Iran Khodro on the 25 Jan 2006 at 10am to commemorate the life and struggles of Babak Shahr workers.
Long live the memory of all those struggling for the emancipation of the working class!
A group of Iran Khodro workers
24 Jan 2007
translated by Workers Left Unity Iran for Hands Off the People of Iran