Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company
Encyclopedia
The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (SWTSBC) is a trade union centered around the Greater Tehran
region. It has a membership of over 17,000 labourers; most of whom work for the United Bus Company of Tehran (Sharekat-e Vahed). Initially established in 1968, its activity has been intermittent throughout the years. The union gained notoriety after the 1979 Islamic Revolution after it openly engaged a regime that is often hostile towards independent worker organizations.
capacity, the Syndicate had been relatively ineffective until their resurgence in 2004.
.
After Osanlou was dismissed from the United Bus Company of Tehran along with seventeen other activists in mid-2005, the bus operators movement started to gain momentum. Osanlou’s popularity amongst workers and his charismatic appeal were important factors in making him the rallying point for alienated labourers. Worker disdain led to rumblings of strike action and revolt, but such thoughts were quelled by reactionary security forces organized by the company and the government itself. During one of the many engagements in May, Osanlou was taken into custody after being treated for injuries. He was later released. Pressure from the theocratic regime to dissolve future activities by the union was largely unsuccessful.
An internal constitution
was ratified by union executives on June 3, essentially cementing the efficacious role this organization would play in future disputes. 8,000 of the 17,000 workers participated in the election that led to the constitution’s approval. The notion of an established trade union was in direct conflict with the Islamic regime's labour policies.
Incarceration
for workers and their representatives within the Syndicate was a regular occurrence. Fighting against unpaid wages, hazardous working conditions, and the restriction of collective bargaining procedures (among others), placed the union in a morally superior position amongst workers. In a show of solidarity, bus operators left the lights on to their vehicles throughout their shifts in protesting the September 7 arrests of colleagues and union leaders.
The latter was sent to ward 209 of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison
. Osanlou’s calls for medical aid have been largely ignored by prison administrators.
The biggest job action to result from this high-profile arrest came in the form of a planned demonstration on January 28, 2006. The demo never commenced because security forces were able to trace pervading pamphlets about the upcoming strike back to the Syndicate’s leadership. The union’s board of directors were arrested, essentially crippling the organizational framework of the impending job action. They included: Ebrahim Madadi, Mansour Hayat Ghaybi, Seyed Davoud Razavi, Sa’id Torabian, Ali Zad Hossein and Gholamreza Mirza’i. Aside from the detained union executives, hundreds of activists and strikers were also arrested (approximately 1200). Others have been detained in varying capacities. A couple dozen were said to have been released under strict conditions. They were excluded from organizing and/or participating in any strikes and other union activities.
As a result, the crackdown attracted international attention. Along with widespread protests from worker and non-profit organizations across the world (Amnesty International
, Human Rights Watch
, among others), the United States
State Department also released a statement condemning the arrests.
According to eyewitness accounts,Mansour Osanlou was arrested on Sunday, November 19, 2006 along with the vice-president of SWTSBC, Ibrahim Madadi under very suspicious circumstances. Osanlou and Madadi were beaten by a group of armed militia and were taken away after shots were fired into the air. This is his second arrest. Oslanou had been recently released on bail after being kept in solitary confinement for months. This seems to be another case where special police and state sponsored undercover militia of “Ansar-e Hezbollah” are used in arresting and silencing social and political activists.
Osanlou was again released from detention, with the posting of additional bail money, on 19 December 2006.
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
region. It has a membership of over 17,000 labourers; most of whom work for the United Bus Company of Tehran (Sharekat-e Vahed). Initially established in 1968, its activity has been intermittent throughout the years. The union gained notoriety after the 1979 Islamic Revolution after it openly engaged a regime that is often hostile towards independent worker organizations.
Background
Iran’s rapid industrialization under the rule of Iran’s final monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah, spawned many worker organizations, including the Syndicate. Labour movements in Iran have been influential participants in the country’s social and political transformation during the 21st century. Like many other sectors of Iranian society, labour unions participated in the 1979 Revolution that eventually led to the Shah’s exile and the inception of the ruling theocracy. Contrary to many of the political aspirations held by the Syndicate during the height of the revolutionary period, the union was placed in an evermore dire position by being banned from all activity. Being replaced by a state-sponsored Islamic Labour Council, bus operators lost the independent representation they once had. Operating in an undergroundUnderground resistance
Underground resistance may refer to*Underground Resistance , a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan*Underground resistance during World War II, the inhabitants of various locales resisting the rule of the Nazis, the Empire of Japan, and Mussolini...
capacity, the Syndicate had been relatively ineffective until their resurgence in 2004.
2004 resurgence
Because of the illegality of unions, the Syndicate maintained its network of workers through informal means. The latter half of 2004 symbolized a more organized Syndicate, giving it an aura of legitimacy not seen since its pre-1979 condition. Worker grievances once concealed by anti-union institutions, were now surfacing through the aid of union leaders such as Mansour OsanlouMansour Osanlou
Mansour Osanloo is a leading trade union activist in Iran where he has been imprisoned several times from 2005 to 2008. Osanloo is currently held in Evin Prison, serving a five-year prison sentence...
.
After Osanlou was dismissed from the United Bus Company of Tehran along with seventeen other activists in mid-2005, the bus operators movement started to gain momentum. Osanlou’s popularity amongst workers and his charismatic appeal were important factors in making him the rallying point for alienated labourers. Worker disdain led to rumblings of strike action and revolt, but such thoughts were quelled by reactionary security forces organized by the company and the government itself. During one of the many engagements in May, Osanlou was taken into custody after being treated for injuries. He was later released. Pressure from the theocratic regime to dissolve future activities by the union was largely unsuccessful.
An internal constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
was ratified by union executives on June 3, essentially cementing the efficacious role this organization would play in future disputes. 8,000 of the 17,000 workers participated in the election that led to the constitution’s approval. The notion of an established trade union was in direct conflict with the Islamic regime's labour policies.
Incarceration
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
for workers and their representatives within the Syndicate was a regular occurrence. Fighting against unpaid wages, hazardous working conditions, and the restriction of collective bargaining procedures (among others), placed the union in a morally superior position amongst workers. In a show of solidarity, bus operators left the lights on to their vehicles throughout their shifts in protesting the September 7 arrests of colleagues and union leaders.
The latter was sent to ward 209 of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison
Evin Prison
Evin House of Detention is a prison in Iran, located in Evin, northwestern Tehran. It is noted for its political prisoners' wing, where prisoners have been held both before and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
. Osanlou’s calls for medical aid have been largely ignored by prison administrators.
The biggest job action to result from this high-profile arrest came in the form of a planned demonstration on January 28, 2006. The demo never commenced because security forces were able to trace pervading pamphlets about the upcoming strike back to the Syndicate’s leadership. The union’s board of directors were arrested, essentially crippling the organizational framework of the impending job action. They included: Ebrahim Madadi, Mansour Hayat Ghaybi, Seyed Davoud Razavi, Sa’id Torabian, Ali Zad Hossein and Gholamreza Mirza’i. Aside from the detained union executives, hundreds of activists and strikers were also arrested (approximately 1200). Others have been detained in varying capacities. A couple dozen were said to have been released under strict conditions. They were excluded from organizing and/or participating in any strikes and other union activities.
As a result, the crackdown attracted international attention. Along with widespread protests from worker and non-profit organizations across the world (Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, among others), the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
State Department also released a statement condemning the arrests.
According to eyewitness accounts,Mansour Osanlou was arrested on Sunday, November 19, 2006 along with the vice-president of SWTSBC, Ibrahim Madadi under very suspicious circumstances. Osanlou and Madadi were beaten by a group of armed militia and were taken away after shots were fired into the air. This is his second arrest. Oslanou had been recently released on bail after being kept in solitary confinement for months. This seems to be another case where special police and state sponsored undercover militia of “Ansar-e Hezbollah” are used in arresting and silencing social and political activists.
Osanlou was again released from detention, with the posting of additional bail money, on 19 December 2006.
See also
- Economy of IranEconomy of IranThe economy of Iran is the eighteenth largest in the world by purchasing power parity and according to Iranian officials' claims is going to become the 12th largest by 2015. The economy of Iran is a mixed and transition economy with a large public sector and some 50% of the economy centrally planned...
- Labour and tax laws in IranLabour and tax laws in IranTaxation in Iran generates particular unease among foreign firms because they appear to be arbitrarily enforced – tax bills are initially based on 'assumed earnings' calculated by the Finance and Economy Ministry according to the size of the company and the sector in which it operates...
- Mansour OsanlouMansour OsanlouMansour Osanloo is a leading trade union activist in Iran where he has been imprisoned several times from 2005 to 2008. Osanloo is currently held in Evin Prison, serving a five-year prison sentence...
- Human rights in the Imperial State of IranHuman rights in the Imperial State of IranThe National Assembly of Iran, known as the Majlis, convening as a constituent assembly on December 12, 1925, deposed the last Qajar Shah, and declared Reza Shah the new monarch of the Imperial State of Iran.-Pahlavi dynasty:...
(1925-1979) - Human rights in the Islamic Republic of IranHuman rights in the Islamic Republic of IranThe state of human rights in Iran has been criticized both by Iranians and international human right activists, writers, and NGOs. The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran in published critiques and several resolutions.The...
(1979-present)
External links
- Human Rights Activists in Iran blog (PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
) - Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company website (PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
)