A Tale of Security and Judicial Tactics againt Mahshahr Free Economic Zone Workers Union

Manouchehr Yarahmadi, the head of the Union of Project based and Contracting Workers at Bandar Emam Petrochemical Complexes in an interview with Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) described the history of formation of the Union as well as the police and judicial actions brought about on the union and the workers lot in the administration of president Rouhani. The translation of the Yarahamdi’s answers in the interview are as follows:

On the events leading to the formation of the Union, Yarahmadi described that following the week of strike by the contracting workers at Mahshahr economic zone on March of 2011, meetings were held between representatives of the workers and employers and the managers at the zone leading to certain concessions on the part of the employers on workers rights.

Following the strike, a representative from each of the petrochemical complexes attended the meetings of the strategic council of the zone comprised of the employers and the managers. It was in the course of the meetings that the idea of formation of the union took shape when it was found that it was not practical for 25 or 26 workers representatives to attend each meeting over simple matters at hand. Hence, it was believed that it would be more efficient to elect legal representatives of the workers. Even the zone managers suggested to hold a general assembly and form a trade union.
According to Yarahmadi, the workers got to come in contact with Darvishi, the then secretary of the Labor House in Bandar Emam who suggested to workers to form their own union. Following several meetings with Darvishi, the workers got contacts with the central Labor House and after several meetings with those officials, the workers decided to form a trade union of the economic zone.

The general assembly of the union composed of 46 representatives from the petrochemical complexes in the economic zone was held on February 8, 2012 and the membership elected the steering committee of the union. It was further decided to formally inaugurate the union coinciding with the first congress of Labor House in Bandar Emam on February 20, 2012.

The head of the the Union of Project based and Contracting Workers at Bandar Emam Petrochemical Complexes continued that the employers and managers accused them of being pro Labor House although it was those employers and managers themselves who had encouraged the workers to form a trade association. The workers were not led by Labor House according to Yarahmadi. The managers may have been afraid that the workers were going to go on strike against them while the idea of the workers was to secure workers rights with least costs according to Yarahamdi. That is the workers wanted to achieve their demands without resorting to strikes as mentioned in the union statute.

Yarahmadi continued by saying: “when the employers saw that the union is taking serious steps in safeguarding workers rights, they resorted to confronting the union with all means possible”. He continued by saying following the establishment of the union in 2012, we had minor confrontations with the employers but the first major confrontation goes back to firing of Mr. Rezai. It was as if they were looking for a chance to send a warning message to the union, especially to Mr. Rezai who was the deputy head of the union and one of the active members of the union. Mr. Rezai was the one who leaked Fajr petrochemical workers strike on October 21 of last year to the press over not receiving hazardous job benefits, short duration of the contracts and the unfair rules in the disciplinary regulations of the contracting company. The employer prevented Mr. Rezai from entering the factory compounds last February in reaction to publicizing of the workers grievances. Finding that the Labor Office in the zone was not going to defend this brave worker, the contracting company fired him.

Yarahmadi termed the article 34 in the provisions of the special zones as one of the problems with that law. According to Yarahmadi, this article specifies that when there is a dispute between the expelled worker and the employer, even if the arbitration committee rules on the side of the worker, the employer can still expel the worker and prevent the worker from entering the factory. Mr. Rezai was also expelled on the same grounds. Why the article has been included into law is truly mind boggling according to Yarahmadi. On the one hand, the articles that are on the side of the workers are not put into practice and this double standard is making the situation more difficult for the contracting workers in the zone.

According to him, with the new administration of Rouhani, the confrontations with the workers in the zone started which lead to expulsion of Mr. Rezai and now the ruling of incarceration and flogging of four Razi petrochemical workers. When there are disputes between the worker and the employer, one must refer to the labor law and refer the grievance to the Labor Office. Judiciary has no right to treat the workers as criminals or hooligans. Was it that the Razi petrochemical workers used knives against the employer that they were tried based on the law against the hooligans? It is not clear under what reason and logic a worker who behaves not to their liking is immediately summoned to the courts.

Yarahmadi asked the judiciary to be accountable on the ruling of jail and flogging sentence on Razi petrochemical workers and said: based on the article 41 of the Labor Law, with disputes between the worker and the employer, the worker has the right not to work. If they do not want to implement the law, they should openly say it so we know how things do actually stand. It cannot be that as soon as one complains, they summon him/her to the courts and the court also immediately sentences him/her.

Criticizing the officials at the Ministry of Labor for their silence in face of the action against the workers at Mahshahr special economic zone, he said: Ministry of Labor did not pursue the issue of Mr. Rezai. The official labor organizations also followed the Ministry in this regard. The three (officially sanctioned labor) organizations have not done any thing for Mr. Rezai and Razi petrochemical workers and they shall not do anything for other workers in future either.

He asked why Mr. Rabii, the Minister of Labor, does not utter his position on the unjust expulsion of Mr. Rezai and the prison and flogging sentence for the Razi petrochemical workers? Why does not he ask the judiciary why they have sentenced the workers who are asking for their rights to prison and flogging?

The union leader said while Ahmadinejad was in power, all thought that workers lot is in a very difficult situation. The workers, despite their resentment to enter into politics, given the dire situation in the country supported Mr. Rouhani in the presidential elections of 2013. Following the elections, they also supported the appointment of Mr. Rabii to the Ministry of Labor. They thought it will be that someone from the labor community is going to take the helm at this ministry. After a year and a half of his appointment, nothing has changed. When he got the votes, Rabii spoke eloquently and said that one of his goals is to safeguard the workers organizations. After a year and a half, however, his promises have not materialized. At least we have not seen anything. When we went to the Ministry of Labor last March, we were not able to meet with him with the excuse that he was in meetings that day. His deputies, however, met with us and heard what we had to say. It was decided that they will coordinate a meeting with Mr. Rabii and they will notify us. Of course, this never happened and our pursuing to meet with Mr. Rabii has gone no where.

Pointing to the meetings of the union not being held due to the increase in pressures on the members of the union, he said: when they expelled Mr. Rezai, 700 workers of Fajr petrochemicals staged 10 days of strike. Even one of the striking workers wanted to put himself on fire which was prevented by the security. But what happened to them? They filed a complaint against at least 7 of the striking workers to the judiciary. It is interesting that they also filed complaint against Mr. Rezai although he did not have permission to enter the factory compounds at the time. It gets more interesting to know that the employer had complained against him for publicizing the workers grievances before.
Comparing the trade protests of last year to the Ahmadinejad period, he emphasized that in 2011, after one week of strikes, they made a probe into our demands but now under no circumstances they back down over workers trade protests. Ahmadinejad administration had very bad rapport with the Ministry of Oil and for that reason, the oversight body in the zone did not clash with the striking workers. These conditions no longer exist in the current administration and with Mr. Zangeneh at the helm of the Ministry of Oil, our conditions are much worse than before.

Yarahmadi added that the treatments are more police and security oriented. For example, Mr. Rezai came back to the zone several months after his expulsion. We were in the car together. He received a call from one of the oversight bodies and was questioned on why he had returned to the zone. That is this is how the treatments have turned to. Then it is natural that the union meetings are not being held under these circumstances.

The head of Union of Project based and Contracting Workers at Bandar Emam Petrochemical Complexes concluded by saying that I was reading on the memoirs of the Iran-Iraq war that 10 to 20 days into the beginning of the war, Khuzistan revolutionary guard stopped the Iraqi advance. When the Iraqis were inside Khuzistan, Mr. Shamkhani, the then head of the Khuzistan guards wrote a letter to Tehran. In his letter on its heading, he had written in large fonts “come to our rescue” and in the following had described the situation. But under these conditions, there is no one to come to the rescue of the contracting workers of the zone.