A letter from the Greater Tehran bus drivers Union to the secretary general of the International Transport Workers' Federation, Mr. David Cockroft

With warm greetings and respect,

Following the previously sent letters regarding the illegal termination of the workers of the greater Tehran bus drivers’ union, we would like to inform you that 55 of the mentioned workers, due to their insistence on the receipt of their legal and union-ranked salaries, are still being deprived of returning to work.

Based on the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, one of the workers registered his complaint against his employer with the ministry of labor. Unfortunately, the ministry of labor has acted against its own regulations by simply refusing to provide a file number and the proper status of the workers; although recently the deputy minister, Mr. Ibrahim Nazeri-Jalali had given the proper orders to Tehran’s bureau of labor for the workers claims to be investigated and other officials from the ministry of labor had also made promises to the workers, as of yet, nothing positive has come of it and the claims of these workers has gone unanswered.

Recently also, Mr. Hasan, the scholar director general of Tehran’s bureau of labor who is directly in charge of investigating workers’ claims, and Mr. Bagheri, the regime’s representative to Tehran’s bureau of labor have jointly announced: “You workers are up against the rule of the Islamic Republic of Iran and if you want to work again, you must repent and show remorse, confessing to your guilt and beg the authorities for amnesty and forgiveness.”

Mr. Secretary General, Sir,

In view of the grim economic conditions that these workers face and the general deprivation of the receipt of any wages or salaries, unemployment insurance, health insurance and liability insurance, we ask if you would please, through either ILO , ICFTU , other international labor organizations or any means possible, to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ministry of labor in order for them to live up to their legal obligations and not only be answerable to the complaints of the workers but to permit workers to return to work as soon as possible.

We thank you for all your efforts,

The Greater Tehran Vaahed bus drivers Union