Mahmoud Salehi is the founding member of the Trade Association of Bakery Workers in Saqez, Iranian Kurdistan, and has been locked up by the regime for his organising efforts, despite his significant heart and kidney problems. He sent this message from his cell in reaction to international protests for his release.
The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and their affiliates along with colleagues of the Global Union Federation are organising an international action day on March 6th for workers’ rights in Iran and the freedom of Mansour Osanloo and me (Mahmoud Salehi). For my part, I gracefully appreciate such militant actions.
We must not part from the struggle for the creation of independent workers’ organisations!
A workers’ movement has grown in the context of aggravation of economic crisis, factory close downs, mass dismissal of workers, excessive increase of inflation that lowered the working people’s purchasing power, and generally widening of the class gap… as the result of all this workplaces have turned into a battle field of class struggle for workers in order to meet their demands. Worker activists were raised and taken their roles within such struggles.
The close relationship between these fed-up masses and progressive workers has helped labour activists to adapt their views and behaviour to the realities of life and struggles of workers. Consequently, they have conveyed the proper ways of thinking and acting towards mass workers. Living and working with their co-workers, activists are telling them that the only way out of this terrifying misery, from poverty and starvation, from unemployment, from collective dismissal, and so on, is to fight with the capitalist system and to organise independent workers’ organizations. They tell their colleagues that an independent worker’s organisation will empower them against the harsh onslaught of capitalism; that with their labour organisation, they will be in a better position in their battle with capitalists; that they can set their wages up from a powerful position. Through their independent organisations, workers can make gains through struggle, step by step.
Dear honorable and hard-working colleagues and fellow workers!
As the result of the efforts of honest labour movement activists, international rights’ organisations are now recognizing us as a working class with legitimate demands. As one of the labour activists, who is imprisoned in this capitalist country, I am proud to see such a day in the name of workers in Iran because I now know that the world’s working class has never easily accepted the imprisonment of these activists and has always fought for their freedom. They will not let the persecution and imprisonment of workers to become an obstacle or barrier in their rightful struggle.
On March 6th, I will be joyful, even behind the bars of my cell, dreaming of unity and solidarity amongst workers. At this day, workers in Iran should be cheerful while their enemies would grieve!
I will see myself among you, arm in arm, by your side and fighting with you; and I, along with you, will emphasise that we must not part from the struggle for the creation of independent workers’ organisations!
Mahmoud Salehi - Central Prison of the City of Sanandaj, Iran
March 04, 2008
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