http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2013/03/19/iran-six-worker-activists-arrested-families-stage-protests-for-their-release/
Iran: Six worker activists arrested; Families stage protests for their release<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2013/03/19/iran-six-worker-activists-arrested-families-stage-protests-for-their-release/> Politics <http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/category/politics/> by Maryam Namazie<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/author/maryamnamazie/> [image: iwfu-nominated]<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/files/2013/03/iwfu-nominated.jpg>In the past ten days, six worker activists have been arrested in the city of Sanandaj in the west of Iran, according to reports by the Free Union of Iranian Workers. The six jailed workers are: Vafa Ghaderi Seyed Khaled Hosseini Ali Azadi Behzad Farajollahi Hamed Mahmoud Nejad Sharif Saed Panah The first five activists are all from the Co-ordinating Committee to Help Form Workers Organisations, and were arrested on 7 March. Sharif Saed Panah is an executive member of the Free Union of Iranian Workers and an organiser of the 30,000-signature pay-rise campaign. He was arrested on 10 March. The activists are being held purely for their union activities. Meanwhile, on Sunday, for the eighth day running, families of the jailed workers staged a protest outside the Intelligence Ministry, calling for the immediate release of their loved ones. They then marched towards the Provincial Governors office to continue their protests there. The families have vowed to continue their protests until all the jailed workers are released. * * * Free Them Now! calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the jailed workers and all political prisoners in Iran. 18 March 2013 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Free Them Now! Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran Shahla Daneshfar ([email protected]) Bahram Soroush ([email protected]) http://free-them-now.blogspot.co.uk MAR202013 Happy Nowruz!<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2013/03/20/happy-nowruz/> Politics <http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/category/politics/> by Maryam Namazie<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/author/maryamnamazie/> Its Nowruz today. Nowruz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated amongst Iranians, Afghans, Kurds and others. Below is my take on the Nowruz table, which needs to have 7 things beginning with S (Haft Sin <http://www.payvand.com/news/09/mar/1210.html>). Mine is basically made up of anything I could get my hands on. Theres a wooden fish rather than goldfish and a flytrap plant my son got at a birthday party rather than Sabzi (ours is looking too pathetic to photograph). By the way, Nowruz is a celebration that predates Islam and there has been a constant battle between the public and the regime with regards celebrating it. The regime even once tried to ban it but no one bothered to listen. The last Wednesday of the year Chaharshanbeh Suri which was last night and is a fire festival is also a source of great displeasure making these celebrations all the more important and fun! Happy New Year! And as all Iranians say (well the sane ones at least): may this be the first year without the Islamic regime in Iran! [image: noruz]<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/files/2013/03/noruz.jpg> ------------ I could have told you that<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2013/03/19/i-could-have-told-you-that/> Politics <http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/category/politics/> by Maryam Namazie<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/author/maryamnamazie/> [image: anti-Muslim Brotherhood banners during a demonstration in Cairo]<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/files/2013/03/anti-Muslim-Brotherhood-b-010.jpg>You must have seen the Muslim Brotherhood statement <http://siawi.org/article5221.html>against a UN Commission declaration against violence against women? The Brotherhood outlines a very, very long list of objections, including what it says is the granting of girls their complete sexual freedom, as well as the freedom to choose their sex and the freedom to choose their sex partners.. with rising the age of marriage; equality between illegitimate and legitimate sons in all rights; granting homosexuals all their rights; granting wives all the right to sue their husbands with charges of rape or harassment; equality in inheritance; replacing guardianship with partnership, and fully share the roles within the family between men and women: equal access to the marriage legislations such as: Stop polygamy, Iddah, mandate, and the dowry ; withdrawing the authority of divorce from husbands and authorize judiciary and share property after divorce; and cancelling the obligatory authorization of the husband in travel, work or going out or use contraception Not surprisingly, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Russia and the Vatican concurred. The Muslim Brotherhood adds that all these very basic rights collide with the principles of Islam and its basic elements of Quran and Sunnah. Well I could have told you that (and have). The MB says that these will also lead to the dismantling of society. In reality, any gain for womens rights is a loss for them and will lead to the dismantling of their rule. And that is all they are really concerned about Of course womens rights campaigners and organisations have given their unequivocal response. One such response says: * Stop using justifications based on religion, culture, tradition or nationality to block the progress of laws at all levels, including in the sphere of international law These justifications must be challenged. The violence they cause is unacceptable and cannot ever be condoned or tolerated. * End the harmful use of religion, tradition, and culture to safeguard practices that perpetuate violence against women and girls. You can read the full statement <http://www.csbronline.org/2013/03/csw57/> here. Equal Rights Now <http://www.equalrightsnow-iran.com/> Organisation against Womens Discrimination in Iran is a signatory to it. ------------ MAR192013 Amina represents me<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2013/03/19/amina-represents-me/> Politics <http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/category/politics/> by Maryam Namazie<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/author/maryamnamazie/> [image: amina]<http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/files/2013/03/amina.jpg> An Islamist preacher<http://www.kapitalis.com/societe/15111-tunisie-amina-doit-etre-lapidee-jusqu-a-la-mort-estime-un-predicateur-islamiste.html> says 19 year old Tunisian Amina (FEMEN Tunisia) who posted a topless photo of herself bearing the slogan my body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyones honour deserves to be stoned to death. A lawyer has said she may face up to 2 years imprisonment and fines as a result of her topless activism. Someone identifying herself as Aminas aunt denounced Aminas actions on Youtube saying<http://www.tunisia-live.net/2013/03/18/topless-feminist-protest-comes-to-tunisia/>: I hope she pays for her actions. She does not represent her country or Tunisian women. Well, Amina represents me and countless other women across the Middle East, North Africa, and the world. Adel Almi, president of Al-Jamia Al-Li-Wassatia Tawia Wal-Islah, who called for Aminas flogging and stoning to death said <http://www.kapitalis.com/societe/15111-tunisie-amina-doit-etre-lapidee-jusqu-a-la-mort-estime-un-predicateur-islamiste.html>Aminas actions will bring misfortune by causing epidemics and disasters and could be contagious and give ideas to other women Of course it has and will just as those of FEMEN or Aliaa Magda El-Mahdy. I suggest we pick a date for a global day of topless action led by FEMEN to show him and his Islamist brethren what a disaster women are for misogyny Islamic or otherwise. --------------------- http://iranlaborreport.com/?p=2206 Workers Demand for Fair Minimum Wages in 2013 Featured <http://iranlaborreport.com/?cat=7> / recent updates<http://iranlaborreport.com/?cat=1> March 18, 20130 <http://iranlaborreport.com/?p=2206#comments> March 20 marks the beginning of the new Iranian Year. Each year in March, according to the Labor Law, the High Council on Labor is tasked with fixing the wages for the coming year. On March 11, the High Council on Labor announced the passage of the level fixed for 2013. Before the passage, many in the labor community had called for the new levels to reflect the realistic sharp increase in costs of living due to the dire economic conditions in the country. According to Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), Mohammad Ahmadi, a workers representative at the High Council on Labor described the passage in the following: The minimum wage currently fixed at 389 thousand tomans per month is raised 25 percent to 486,250 tomans. The base for calculation of other wages is fixed at 1985 tomans plus 10 percent. Compensation for years of service for the year 2013 have also been raised from 250 tomans to 300 tomans granted to all the contracted workers with at least one year of service. On other benefits such as monetary, housing, food, and child benefits, Ahmadi said that those were outside the scope of the tasks of the High Council on Labor and have been delegated to the Council of Ministers. The pensions for the retirees were increased by only 18%. According to Arash Faraz, the general secretary of the Supreme Council of Workers Deputies, sixty percent of the workers in the country receive the minimum wage. *The Composition of the High Council on Labor* The High Council on Labor has been traditionally comprised of three workers representatives, three employer representatives and three representatives from the government. According to Faraz, state is the largest employer controlling 80 percent of the economy with only 20 percent of the production factories being run privately. Faraz called for the necessity of presence of other workers organization in the composition of the High Council on Labor. While the composition of the the membership in the High Council on Labor is tilted towards the employers, this year, the parliament passed a law adding two more government representatives to the council. According to the parliamentary law, the meetings are official with participation of seven of the Council members. Increasing government representation to five even caused Mohammad Ahmadi, the mentioned workers representative to the Council to complain to Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA). Mohammadi in the interview with ILNA said: In these conditions, participation of the workers representatives or their lack of participation in the meetings of the High Council on Labor do not have an effect on making the meetings official or the process of fixing the wages. Olia Alibeigi, the head of the High Association of Islamic Labor Councils talking with ILNA indicated that Ahmad Reza Moeini from Isfahan, Mohammad Ahmadi from Qazvin and Houshang Darvishi from Khuzistan have been the workers representatives with signing authority at the High Council on Labor wage meetings. The so-called workers representatives are from Islamic Labor Councils and the government affiliated Labor Trade Associations. The latter were formed as a counter weight to the Labor House and Islamic Labor Councils formed by the previous administrations in the country with taking office of the present administration. The Islamic Labor Councils are vetted by a committee of three, two of its members coming from the government and the other elected through general workers meetings. These workers organizations are mainly tasked with safeguarding the system and putting workers at bay. *The Cost of Living According to State Sanctioned Workers Organizations* Article 41 of the Labor Law reads as follows: Article 41 High Council on Labor is each year responsible to fix the minimum wage for each region of the country and every industry based on the following criteria: 1) The minimum wage is determined according to the rate of inflation announced by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 2) The minimum wage, irrespective of the physical and mental profile of the employees and specifics of the tasks performed, shall be sufficient for a family whose average number of members shall be specified by the appropriate authorities to meet their living expenses. Note The Employers are bound not to pay any workers less than the fixed minimum wage for work performed during statutory hours of work. In case of violation of this rule, the employer has to pay the difference between the wages paid and the most recent minimum wage. According to this article, the minimum wage is fixed based on the rate of inflation announced by the Central Bank and should be sufficient to meet the living expenses of a family of four. While the minimum wage for 2012 was fixed before elimination of the subsidies and sharp increase in the prices and even the Central Bank inflation rates are higher, only 25 percent increase was fixed for 2013. While the Central Bank reported the inflation rate for the months of March 2012 to February 2013 at 31 percent, many in the labor community point to the sharp increase in expenses during the course of the year. Olia Alibeigi of the High Association of Islamic Labor Councils in the above mentioned interview with ILNA confessed that a family of four to sustain living needs 1,316,000 tomans a month. According to Hossein Habibi of the Islamic Labor Councils Association representative in the wages committee, the minimum costs of living are at least six times the minimum wages fixed. According to Habibi, the wages committee of High Council of Islamic Labor Councils with unanimous view, based the 2013 monthly wages on 1316000 tomans and emphasized that if the wages fixed for next year were not realistic and logical and in accordance with the workers interests, none of the members of High Council on Labor and workers organizations should sign onto it. The wage committee of another official worker organization, High Association of Iranian workers Trade Associations also declared the median expenses for a family of four at poverty level to be 1,592,843 tomans.. According to Abolfazl Fathollahi, the deputy head of the High Association of Workers Trade Associations, estimates show a 62% increase in the cost of living between January 2012 to January 2013. Abbas Vatanpour, the former Iranian Employers representative to the ILO said that based on European Union wage calculation rules, the monthly wages of the workers is to be close to 1,500,000 tomans. He called for the minimum wages to be based on the National Per Capita Income. Pointing to the successful experience of EU in fixing the minimum wages, he told ILNA: We should once do what the rest of the wold including EU have done. Based on the rules of the European Union, the workers wages should not be less than 50 percent of National Per Capita Income. National Per Capita Income of Iran is about 9000 dollars multiplied by 4000 tomans for every dollar, the yearly wages of workers based on EU rules will be arrived at which amounts to a monthly wage of 1,500,000 tomans. Criticizing lack of free elections in the official workers and employer organizations, he said: none of the workers and employer representatives at the High Council of Labor are real representatives of social partners. Which of them have been elected in a free election by the social partners? Vatanpour asked. Abdollah Mokhtari, a member of High Association of Tehran Islamic Labor Councils, said that given doubling of the expenses of workers families, the minimum wages should be fixed proportional to the real inflation in the country. He said, it is surprising that the Central Bank declares the inflation rate to be between 20 to 25 percent, while going to any food store you see that all prices are at least twice what they were last year. *Fight to Increase Minimum Wage by Independent Labor Organizations* The independent workers organizations have been the forefront of the fight for increasing the minimum wages this year. The Free Union of Iranian Workers, members of which spear headed the gathering of a 30,000 workers signature petition among other demands calling for fair minimum wages, in their statement on fixing the minimum wages said: in view of us workers, if the reality is that a workers family of four expenses are 1,800,000 tomans and if the reality is that there is a law and the workers wages should be based on the real inflation and the cost of living of a family of four, then it is not clear why and based on which law and rule should our wages with an increase of 20 to 25 percent be fixed at one third of the poverty line? The union called for a minimum monthly wage of 1,500,000 tomans. On March 4, more than one hundred Vahed Bus drivers gathered by the Ministry of Labor where the High Council on Labor held a meeting to fix the minimum wages for the year 2013. The workers talked with Zarifi Azad, the general director of labor relations at the ministry. Vahed workers strongly dismissed those official worker representatives at the Council as not being their representatives and asked for the real representatives of the workers to sit at the meetings. Additionally, a group of Vahed workers presented a petition to the High Council on Labor and officials at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Security for fair fixing of the minimum wages. In their petition, the Vahed workers declared they would see within their rights to move towards future acts of protest. Follow-up Committee to Form Workers Organizations in Iran in their statement on minimum wages declared that the increase in cost of food, transportation and health care this year has been much higher and the administration and parliament organizations numbers approximate the inflation rate to be 40%. The rents alone have increased by at least 30%. The rent for a small 50 to 60 square meter unit is more than 70000 toman while the minimum wage is fixed at 389000 tomans. The poverty line was raised to 1200000 tomans in 2011 and sustaining level to 900000. The committee also declared that the minimum requirements are more than 1500000 tomans per month and a minimum wage based on the inflation rate declared by the Central Bank is no longer meaningful as declared by law. The Committee asked for increasing the minimum wages to above the poverty line. Coordinating Committee to Help Formation of Workers Organizations, in their statement, protested the attempts at including economic conditions in the country as a factor determining the minimum wages seeing it as the capital representatives in the country using it to push the economic crisis on workers shoulders. The economic conditions are part of the new amendments to the Labor Law sent to the parliament by the administration for discussion. According to the Coordinating Committee, the workers through formation of class organizations with no permission from the government and financiers relying on their own will and power, push their demands one after the other. At least until the time the capitalist mode is in operation even the yearly minimum wages if it is to be proportional to the real rate of inflation should be fixed by real workers representatives elected by them in general assemblies. The Committee said workers solidarity in action and independent workers organizations are the main and immediate tasks of the labor movement including increasing the minimum wages and improving the standard of living of the workers. With the passage of the new minimum wage, the workers outrage has peaked and many have protested the High Council on Labor act. 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