Iran

Several labour and union militants have received punitive sentances following on a wave of repression in Iran through 2007 and 2008. In full:

Seyed Qaleb Hosseini, sentenced to 50 lashes and 6 months in prison

Abdullah Khani, sentenced to 40 lashes and 91 days in prison

Khaled Hosseini, sentenced to 30 lashes and a suspended prison sentence

After three weeks of not receiving wages workers at the Alborz Elastics Factory began a strike on July 12. Management had reneged on a promise to pay a New Year's bonus to 400 workers, and has refused to pay into a loan fund for workers despite taking regular deductions from salaries.

What began as a hunger strike launched on June 28 has grown to a full-scale strike as thousands of workers at Iran Khodro, the country's largest auto manufacturer, walked off the job to win wage and conditions improvements.

Workers' demands include:
1) Prohibited entry of security guards to workstations;
2) An end to mandatory over-time;
3) Increases in productivity benefits;

The blockade of the factory is the latest in a series of actions undertaken by workers, who are continuing their strike in the face of brutal repression by security forces.

Workers at Haft-Tapeh started their strike on May 5 to demand immediate payment of wages, which had not been received for three months prior to the strike.

The workers had been on strike at the Kian Tire Factory in the Alborz region of northern Iran since last Thursday, demanding the payment of unpaid wages. On Saturday evening, security forces entered the plant using bulldozers to tear down walls, and arrested around 1,000 workers.

Mahmoud Salehi’s Message to All Workers and concerned organizers and participants of the March 6th Global Day of Action.

A number of their members have been imprisoned. The most famous case being the Saqqez Seven, which includes Mahmoud Salehi.

On “Coordinating Committee to Form Workers Organization”

The ‘Coordinating Committee to Form Workers Organization’ is not a workers organization. This committee is an organized group of worker-activists struggling to meet the following aims:

In the statement, issued on November 23, 2007, workers say "[we] have learned that the French government along with their capitalist allies has pummeled your retirements rights that had been gained over many years of struggle."
"Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Syndicate unequivocally supports your great cause and let it be heard that your struggle is the struggle of all workers of the world.

Here is the statement from the Workers Action Committee following the initial strike.

Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane workers in southern Iran go on strike

Of particular interest is the observation that "in practice the [workers'] councils, due to their complete accordance with workers' direct and immediate exercise of power, won an indisputable victory vis-a-vis the unions. The few attempts at creating unions remained irrelevant to the real workers' movement."