160:, spawned many worker organizations, including the Syndicate. Labour movements in Iran have been influential participants in the country’s social and political transformation during the 21st century. Like many other sectors of Iranian society, labour unions participated in the 1979 Revolution that eventually led to the Shah’s exile and the inception of the ruling theocracy. Contrary to many of the political aspirations held by the Syndicate during the height of the revolutionary period, the union was placed in an evermore dire position by being banned from all activity. Being replaced by a state-sponsored
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alienated labourers. Worker disdain led to rumblings of strike action and revolt, but such thoughts were quelled by reactionary security forces organized by the company and the government itself. During one of the many engagements in May, Osanlou was taken into custody after being treated for injuries. He was later released. Pressure from the theocratic regime to dissolve future activities by the union was largely unsuccessful.
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239:. Aside from the detained union executives, hundreds of activists and strikers were also arrested (approximately 1200). Others have been detained in varying capacities. A couple dozen were said to have been released under strict conditions. They were excluded from organizing and/or participating in any strikes and other union activities.
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This is his second arrest. Oslanou had been recently released on bail after being kept in solitary confinement for months. This seems to be another case where special police and state-sponsored undercover militia of “Ansar-e
Hezbollah” are used in arresting and silencing social and political activists.
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According to eyewitness accounts, Mansour
Osanlou was arrested on Sunday, November 19, 2006, along with the vice-president of SWTSBC, Ibrahim Madadi under very suspicious circumstances. Osanlou and Madadi were beaten by a group of armed militia and were taken away after shots were fired into the air.
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Rasoul Taleb
Moghaddam, a member of syndicate of Tehran's bus drivers, received 74 lashes, the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Workers reported on 1 June 2020. Moghaddam was among a dozen workers arrested in a rally celebrating worker's day on May 1, 2019. Moghadam has been sentenced to
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The biggest job action to result from this high-profile arrest came in the form of a planned demonstration on
January 28, 2006. The demo never commenced because security forces were able to trace pervading pamphlets about the upcoming strike back to the Syndicate’s leadership. The union’s board of
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for workers and their representatives within the
Syndicate was a regular occurrence. Fighting against unpaid wages, hazardous working conditions, and the restriction of collective bargaining procedures (amongst others), placed the union in a morally superior position amongst workers. In a show of
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was ratified by union executives on June 3, essentially cementing the efficacious role this organization would play in future disputes. 8,000 of the 17,000 workers participated in the election that led to the constitution’s approval. The notion of an established trade union was in direct conflict
36:
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After
Osanlou was dismissed from the United Bus Company of Tehran along with seventeen other activists in mid-2005, the bus operators movement started to gain momentum. Osanlou’s popularity amongst workers and his charismatic appeal were important factors in making him the rallying point for
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Because of the illegality of unions, the
Syndicate maintained its network of workers through informal means. The latter half of 2004 symbolized a more organized syndicate, giving it an aura of legitimacy not seen since its pre-1979 condition. Worker grievances once concealed by anti-union
279:(FIDH) and other rights groups Shahabi’s state of health has deteriorated in custody, but prison authorities have not granted him appropriate medical treatment.
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solidarity, bus operators left the lights on to their vehicles throughout their shifts in protesting the
September 7 arrests of colleagues and union leaders.
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As a result, the crackdown attracted international attention. Along with widespread protests from worker and non-profit organizations across the world (
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271:, treasurer of the syndicate. Shahabi has been imprisoned since June 2010 in Evan prison and in 2012 was sentenced to six years imprisonment by the
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144:). Initially established in 1958, its activity has been intermittent throughout the years. The union gained notoriety after the 1979
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of Tehran for “gathering and colluding against state security”, and “spreading propaganda against the system.” According to the
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425:"Iran: Fear of torture or ill-treatment/ incommunicado detention/ possible prisoners of conscience - Amnesty International"
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directors were arrested, essentially crippling the organizational framework of the impending job action. They included:
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Osanlou was again released from detention, with the posting of additional bail money, on 19 December 2006.
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after it openly engaged a regime that is often hostile towards independent worker organizations.
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capacity, the
Syndicate had been relatively ineffective until their resurgence in 2004.
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473:"IRAN: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CALLS FOR RELEASE OF BUS WORKERS - Amnesty International"
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401:"Iran: Release Workers Arrested for Strike: Hundreds Detained for Planning Protest"
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region. It has a membership of over 17,000 labourers; most of whom work for the
449:"Interim Report - Report No 346, June 2007 – International Labour Organization"
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One of the latter, Mansour
Osanlou, was sent to ward 209 of Tehran’s notorious
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International Brotherhood of Teamsters: The World’s Most Powerful Labor Union
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Document - Iran: Trade unionist given six-year prison sentence: Reza Shahabi
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institutions, were now surfacing through the aid of union leaders such as
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Iran’s rapid industrialization under the rule of Iran’s final monarch,
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Labor Rights Activist Receives 74 Lashes In Tehran's Notorious Prison
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563:| International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)| 19 April 2012]
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IRAN: Trade unionist Reza Shahabi sentenced to six years of prison
348:"Teamsters, Other Unions Demonstrate at Iranian Interest Section"
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Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company website
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497:"Iranian gov't uses force on Tehran transport strikers"
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Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company
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Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company
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132:) is a trade union centered on the Greater
267:Another union officer who was arrested is
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277:International Federation for Human Rights
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288:74 lashes and two years in prison.
587:Human Rights Activists in Iran blog
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551:Amnesty International| 9 May 2012
453:International Labour Organization
622:Trade unions established in 1958
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138:United Bus Company of Tehran
130:سنديكای شركت واحد اتوبوسرانی
29:سنديكای شركت واحد اتوبوسرانی
319:Labour and tax laws in Iran
273:Islamic Revolutionary Court
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306:Organized labour portal
250:, amongst others), the
162:Islamic Labour Council
501:People’s Weekly World
477:Amnesty International
429:Amnesty International
244:Amnesty International
617:Trade unions in Iran
526:"Tehran Bus Dispute"
377:"Tehran Bus Dispute"
329:Human rights in Iran
217:Mansour Hayat Ghaybi
109:www.syndicavahed.net
221:Seyed Davoud Razavi
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237:Gholamreza Mirza’i
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356:the original
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269:Reza Shahabi
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188:An internal
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99:Reza Shahabi
51:Headquarters
205:Evin Prison
166:underground
611:Categories
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511:2006-06-28
482:2006-06-28
458:2006-07-25
434:2006-02-02
410:2006-06-28
386:2006-06-28
362:2006-06-28
335:References
152:Background
90:Key people
80:Members
292:See also
61:Location
601:Persian
591:Persian
126:Persian
105:Website
43:Founded
134:Tehran
122:SWTSBC
84:17,000
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