Global Trade Union Condemns Escalating “Repression” in Iran

A global trade union representing over 200 million workers has condemned the “intensification of repressive measures” targeting teachers, journalists, trade union activists, student activists and women's rights defenders in Iran.

“We denounce this repression and urgently call for its cessation, thereby enabling trade unionists to defend and uphold workers' rights in Iran, a cornerstone of any democratic society,” the Council of Global Unions (CGU) said in a statement on September 12 amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent ahead of the first anniversary of nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

The Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teacher Trade Associations, the Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburban Bus Company and the Association of Iranian Journalists face “relentless harassment, arrests, prolonged detentions, and torture in prison,” it said.

The organization also expressed concern about the “increasing influence” of the morality police and their enforcement of the Islamic Republic’s mandatory hijab law to “harass women and prevent their access to education.”

The CGU called on the Iranian authorities to “respect international labour standards, in particular freedom of association, and ensure that principles of human rights, justice, dignity and fairness prevail.”

It also expresses solidarity to women’s rights defenders in Iran “in their struggle for a democratic and secular society.”