Call for demonstration in front of Office of the ILO in Geneva

The Islamic Republic of Iran should be expelled from the ILO

The 97^th annual International Labour Conference of the ILO starts on May 28, 2008 in Geneva. Similar to previous years, a delegation representing the Islamic Republic of Iran is supposed to participate in this conference. Those who attack and oppress workers should not be allowed into the ILO. The Islamic Republic regime should be expelled from the ILO for oppressing workers and depriving them from their most basic rights.

The way that the Islamic regime in Iran treats workers is a disgrace to humanity. The Islamic Republic of Iran has continuously and systematically responded to worker’s protests and their demands for improving workers’ living conditions with violence and brutality. The ruling regime in Iran does not have even least of respect for the workers’ right that are recognized on the basis of international conventions. On several occasions, workers’ protests have been attacked and even been violently suppressed. Worker leaders have been detained, imprisoned, and tortured. Worker activists have been flogged. May Day organizers have been trailed and imprisoned. Huge bails are set for the release of arrested worker activists in order to prevent them from further activities. In a number of cases, the Islamic regime has even used kidnapping and assassination as methods of suppressing the workers. The wages of hundreds of thousands of workers have not been paid for several months and these workers have been forced to live in absolute poverty.

In the past couple of years the worker organizations of the world have responded the Islamic regime in Iran with widespread protests and actions in solidarity with the workers in Iran. Still, stronger actions are required in response to suppressing the workers in Iran. Some worker organizations have maintained that they would submit their official complaints against the Islamic Republic of Iran to the ILO. This is a step forward, but it is not sufficient. The Islamic Republic of Iran should be expelled from the ILO. We, together with the workers in Iran, call upon worker organizations of the world to demand expulsion of the Islamic republic of Iran from the ILO.

The Worker-communist Party of Iran organizes a demonstration to protest the presence of the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the ILO while the delegation of the Islamic regime is in Geneva. The WPI calls upon all the libertarians of the world to participate in this demonstration in Geneva. The WPI also calls on worker organizations to support this action. The date of the demonstration will be announced subsequently.

Worker-communist Party of Iran-Organization Abroad

April 24, 2008