On May Day about Iranian Workers!

First of May, the International Labor Day, is the day of international solidarity of the workers of the world who will share the same exploitative life regardless of where they live.  As long as capitalism exists, workers exploitation, repression, and inequality will never end.

Of course the level of tyranny, oppression, and exploitation depends on economic - political conditions, the level of historical development of each country, and most importantly influences and effectiveness of working class struggle on this historical evolution.

One of the examples of this oppression and exploitation are Iranian workers suffering and struggling under the “Islamic Republic” of Iran, not benefitting from the same recognized rights of their in-chain counterparts in other countries. The bourgeoisie hiding behind the oppressive Islamic dictatorship denies the Iranian working class any kind of class or trade organizations which can help them defend themselves against extreme exploitation. 

For their basic rights, the Iranian workers struggle for independent unions is made much more difficult by having to compete with Islamic “Yellow Dog Unions” and “Official Labor Organizations” on a daily basis. In addition to tyranny and cruel oppression of the Islamic Regime of Iran, lack of unity (dispersion of the working class) makes it easy for ruling bourgeoisie to maximize their exploitation by paying the lowest possible wages and demand the longest working hours, therefore the result is absolute poverty and desperation for workers in Iran.

On this May Day, we would like to take this opportunity in support of Iranian workers and their continuous struggle for better working and living conditions, to demonstrate some of these living and working conditions at present time Iran:

1- Minimum wage for Iranian workers for this year, established by the Iranian government is four times below the official poverty line.

2- According to reports published by the Islamic Republic of Iran, even these minuscule wages are not paid on time. In some cases workers are unpaid for twelve long months, and for the very same reason, getting paid on time and fighting for unpaid wages has become one of the most important and common characteristics of workers demand and struggle in Iran.

3- Because of wages being so low, workers need to work for very long hours, in order to survive. In some cases, they have to work for twelve to fourteen hours a day.

4- The lack of standard health and safety conditions in work environments, puts Iran on the top of the list of countries with highest work related accidents in the world. Every single day numbers of workers either lose their life or become disable and unable to work again because of these accidents.

5- In Iran, not only vast majority of working class is not covered by labor laws, almost 90% of workers are employed on temporary contract basis. Even then, the Iranian bourgeoisie is not content with this, and through “White Contract”, which deprives workers from any rights so they can be dismissed at any time without any compensation or unemployment benefit, they hire temporary workers to put more profits in their own pockets.

6- While establishing any independent workers organization is not tolerated, the oppressive regime of Iran also severely punishes those workers who dare to gather together to demand even most basic and fundamental rights, these punishments includes arrests, imprisonments, and even lashes.

7- Women workers in Iran are not paid equally with the men for the same job, and in some jobs they are paid half the men’s wages, still women are deprived from employment on many fields. Also children in substantial dimensions, shamelessly being exploited and their childhood are taken away from them by leechlike capitalists.

8- Due to the growing crisis of the capitalist system, millions of workers either lost their jobs or have no horizon of finding one in Iran, but hypocritical ruling bourgeois, portrays Afghani migrant workers as the cause of current unemployment and tries to channelize the hatred and anger of workers toward Afghani workers whom because of war and poverty were forced to leave their homeland and live in Iran under the most horrible oppressive living conditions. 

Despite all these brutality, almost every day workers in Iran halt production and protests and demand their just rights. These challenges and struggles are encouraging and promising hope in the time of tyranny and austerity imposed by Iranian suppressive regime on our working class. Believing in emancipation of working class of Iran, we have to convey their messages and make their voices heard by greater public and support of their struggle and campaigns.

Down with the anti-worker Islamic Republic regime of Iran

The Iranian People’s Fadaee Guerrillas Activists – Vienna

1^st of May 2016

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