Long live May Day, International Workers' Solidarity Day!

Statement of the Political-Executive Bureau of the Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)

Long live May Day, International Workers' Solidarity Day!

Unity and Solidarity for Trade Union Rights, Struggle against Tyranny and Injustice!

Workers and Toilers!

You have gone through a difficult year with cycles of struggles. The extent and quality of your diverse protests, struggles, and promising strikes have sparked enthusiasm among libertarians and masses angry of poverty and injustice and put the labor movement at the center of public attention. The rise of the impoverished masses in November last year signaled the need for justice in Iran, and shows how much our society has the capacity to protest. Last year was a year of intensified labor struggles against injustice. Congratulations to all of you workers and toilers for such fruitful struggles.

Your strikes and struggles last year were promising and caused fear and revenge in the regime camp against you and the leaders of the strikes. To suppress protests and clear their political and social implications, the regime started firing leaders of the protests and brought them to trial. As it has always been the case, the regime forced a number of worker activists and journalists to confess crimes they had not committed by torturing them. However, you were not intimidated and continued your rightful struggles. By standing in Haft Tappeh, Azarab, Hepco, Moghan agro-industry, Kermanshah refinery, etc., by challenging the regime’s privatization policy, you have raised the Iranian labor movement to a higher level. The sound resurgence against conservative neoliberal adjustment policies that has violated trade union rights, frozen wages below the poverty line and caused unemployment and the looting of people's capital by the regime’s affiliates, by destroying your job security was a turning point. You disgraced the regime by writing an open letter and describing your torture in prisons, and you mobilized an unprecedented political activism in the struggle against torture. The unprecedented intensity of the regime’s suppression of the strikes and the union leaders is a sign of its fear of the maturity of the labor movement and lasting and forward-looking effects of your struggles!

This year, the tragedy of Corona disease has made it impossible to hold the International Workers Day in public and on the streets. But the existence of virtual media allows us to hold Labor Day ceremonies. This opportunity can be taken advantage of and the opinions, news and resolutions related to Labor Day can be put forward in cyberspace for public discussion.

Although the outbreak of Corona in the last months of last year has not stopped your struggles, it has inevitably led to changes in their form and manner. By taking advantage of this catastrophe and highlighting economic sanctions, the regime is trying to use them as subterfuge to even more restrict your rights. Struggle for wages raise above the poverty line, unemployment pay and jobs creation cannot be stopped. Basic rights such as; being covered by labor and social security law, job security, working place safety and health, the right to organize and strike all that have been achieved through long struggles. The regime and employers are trying to ignore or trample over these rights as much as they can.

Despite a sharp drop in purchasing power, 41 percent inflation and threefold increase in fuel prices, rising essential commodity prices and housing rents, rising education, medical and travel costs, the government and employers violated their own labor laws. They set the workers’ wages and pensions at 20 percent less than the officially manipulated inflation rate, which is only one-third of the cost of the household basket and imposed it on you. Your struggle to raise wages is fight against poverty and injustice, corruption and the incompetency of the regime’s leaders and fight to reduce recession and unemployment as well.

Number of workers have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 disease. At least 80 percent have been deprived of their right to unemployment benefits and even a small amount of government aid due to various reasons. Formation of special organizations for the unemployed and being organized in it is your defense tool that should be tried to form.

More than $100 billion from the national reserves has been forcibly confiscated by various foundations controlled by Khamenei and the Guardianship (Velayat) system. This is people’s capital and should be taken back from the Supreme Leader affiliates and spent only for the purpose of unemployment benefits, strengthening of the health, treatment and education sectors and reinforcement of production and service units suffered by Corona.

Hardworking Sisters and Brothers!

We must fight against the use of child labor and discrimination against women and foreign workers by any institution or official. In order for the labor movement to stay bound to its values, it must avoid being tainted by the narrow-minded nationalist, racist, and anti-dissident deviations.

Due to lack of adequate protective equipment and poor health and safety of their workplaces, many workers, nurses, doctors, medical staff, drivers, etc., fell sick and some died while working and helping patients. Lack of timely warning, concealment, not understanding the seriousness of the disease, confusion and refusal of government officials to perform quarantine, lack of medical equipment and safety of work environments, poverty and misery of millions of workers and laborers, all have played an undeniable role in the spread of the disease and increase in human casualties and financial losses. You are more likely to get the disease than affluent strata. Establishing self-defense committees at work and community can both play a preventive role and help people with the disease.

The existence and continuation of the US economic sanctions makes it more difficult to deal with the Corona disease and increases mortality and financial losses, recession, unemployment and poverty, high prices and shortage of medical needs. Workers have suffered the most because of the sanctions. Continuation of these sanctions and the insistence on maintaining them by the US government, increases our people’s suffering. It seems impossible to lift these sanctions without the IR regime renouncing and changing its adventurous, costly and detrimental interventions and policies to the affairs of the countries of the region. Let's protest against the regime's interference in the affairs of the countries of the region and against the devastating economic sanctions and demand their halt. Let’s not to allow the regime to suppress your struggles under the pretext of sanctions and add to the country's problems.

The Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian), which considers itself as a member of the international left movement, believes that freedom is intertwined with social justice and socialism is intertwined with democracy. Our party, which defends the freedom to organize social groups, form trade unions and NGO’s and the free activity of political parties, congratulates all freedom and social justice fighters the International Workers Day. We salute you, the workers and toilers for your extensive struggle against tyranny, poverty and injustice. We have always supported and will continue to support the rightful struggles and demands of the workforce and will be with you and by your side in this just and humane struggle.

Long Live May Day, International Workers' Solidarity Day

Political-Executive Bureau of the Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)

April 29, 2020