Interim Report - Report No 375, June 2015

1. 354. The Committee has already examined the substance of this case on eight occasions, most recently at its March 2014 meeting, when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body [371st Report, paras 550–569, approved by the Governing Body at its 320th Session (March 2014)].
2. 355. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 18 March 2014 and 10 March 2015.
3. 356. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not ratified either the Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 357. At its March 2014 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 371st Report, para. 569]:
   • (a) The Committee expects that the Government will be able to report without further delay on the outcome of independent investigations into the allegations of ill-treatment to which Mr Ebrahim Madadi, Vice-President of the SVATH union, and Mr Reza Shahabi, Treasurer of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, have been subjected to while in detention. The Committee further expects that if these allegations are found to be true, both union leaders will be compensated accordingly. Finally, encouraged by the new Government’s stance against the detention of social and trade union activists, the Committee urges the Government to secure without further delay Mr Shahabi’s parole, pardon and immediate release from prison, the dropping of any remaining charges, as well as the restoration of his rights and the payment of compensation for the damage suffered. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
   • (b) Pending the implementation of the legislative reforms, the Committee urges the Government to indicate the concrete measures taken in relation to the de facto recognition of the SVATH union, irrespective of its non-affiliation to the Confederation of Iranian Workers’ Trade Unions.
   • (c) The Committee once again requests the Government to provide a detailed report of the findings of the SGIO and the Headquarters for the Protection of Human Rights into the allegations of workplace harassment during the period of the union’s founding, from March to June 2005. It once again requests the Government, in light of the information revealed by these investigations, to take the necessary measures to ensure that all employees at the company are effectively protected against any form of discrimination related to their trade union membership or their trade union activities. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard, as well as to provide a copy of the court’s judgment on the action initiated by the union concerning the attacks on union meetings in May and June 2005, once it is handed down.
   • (d) The Committee welcomes the Government’s request for an ILO technical cooperation for the training of its disciplinary forces for the proper management of labour protests and expects that the Government will engage with the Office in this respect without delay. It requests the Government to keep it informed on the progress made in this regard.
   • (e) The Committee draws the special attention of the Governing Body to the extreme seriousness and urgent nature of the matters dealt with in this case.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 358. In its communications dated 18 March 2014 and 10 March 2015 the Government reiterates its desire to cooperate with the International Labour Standards Department and provides the following information. Concerning the alleged torture that Mr Ebrahim Madadi’s had been subjected to while in detention, the Government submits that the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare has followed up the matter with the High Council for Human Rights. According to the reply received from the said Council, considering that torture is illegal under the Constitution, Mr Madadi has not been subjected to such kind of ill-treatment while in detention. The Government further indicates that after thirty years of service at the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Mr Madadi has retired. Regarding the repeated recommendations of the Committee for the release of Mr Reza Shahabi from prison, the Government indicates that his probationary release has been granted by the judicial authorities and that he was currently free and has returned to work.
2. 359. The Government further refers to the visit of a High-level ILO Mission in May 2014. According to the Government, the Mission met with the Government’s and social partners’ representatives and had a chance to witness the exercise of freedom of association rights by workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Mission was informed of the distinct role these organizations played in the national process of decision-making. The Government further reiterates that the Labour Law amendment has been prepared in consultations with the social partners and was currently pending for adoption in Parliament.
3. 360. Finally, the Government informs that during the 103rd Session of the International Labour Conference, it has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC–ILO), whose experts have met with the Government and the judicial authorities. A possibility of conducting a training course for the judiciary is being currently considered.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 361. The Committee recalls that this case, initially lodged in July 2006, concerns acts of repression against the local trade union at the bus company, including: harassment of trade unionists and activists; violent attacks on the union’s founding meeting; the violent disbanding, on two occasions, of the union general assembly; and the arrest and detention of large numbers of trade union members and leaders under false pretences (disturbing public order, illegal trade union activities).
2. 362. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on its efforts to address the Committee’s recommendation (a). In particular, the Committee notes that regarding Mr Madadi’s (Vice-President of the Tehran Vahed Bus Company (SVATH) union) alleged torture during detention, the Government submits that the High Council for Human Rights considered that in view of the illegality of torture pursuant to the Constitution, Mr Madadi has not been subjected to any such ill-treatment while in detention. The Government further indicates that after 30 years of service at the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Mr Madadi has retired. Regarding the repeated recommendations of the Committee for the release of Mr Reza Shahabi from prison, the Government indicates his probationary release has been granted by the judicial authorities and that he was currently free and has returned to work.
3. 363. The Committee regrets the apparent lack of investigation into the allegation of ill-treatment suffered by Mr Madadi’s while in detention; it appears from the Government’s reply that the High Council for Human Rights has merely concluded that as torture was prohibited under the Constitution, Mr Madadi could not have been tortured. The Committee emphasizes that in cases of alleged torture or ill-treatment while in detention, governments should carry out full and independent inquiries into complaints of this kind. The Committee further regrets that no information has been provided on the outcome of an independent investigation into similar allegations concerning Mr Reza Shahabi (Treasurer of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company). The Committee therefore urges the Government to carry out independent investigations into the allegations of ill-treatment to which Mr Madadi and Mr Shahabi are said to have been subjected to while in detention. The Committee further expects that if these allegations are found to be true, both union leaders will be compensated accordingly. The Committee expects that the Government will be able to report without further delay on the outcome of these investigations.
4. 364. Welcoming the Government’s indication that Mr Shahabi is currently on probationary release and has returned to work, the Committee urges the Government to secure without further delay his definitive release, through a pardon or other means, the dropping of any remaining charges, as well as the restoration of his rights and the payment of compensation for the damage suffered. The Committee urges the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
5. 365. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Law amendment has been prepared in consultation with the social partners and was currently pending for adoption in Parliament. The Committee recalls that it has examined the draft amendments to the Labour Law in the framework of Case No. 2807 [see 371st Report, paras 570–579, March 2014]. On that occasion, the Committee, while welcoming the Government’s indicated intention to ensure that the amended Labour Law was in conformity with the relevant ILO instruments, considered that it was not clear, at that stage, to what extent the Labour Law and the accompanying regulations would guarantee, in law and in practice, the right of workers to come together and form organizations of their own choosing, independently and with structures which permit their members to elect their own officers, draw up and adopt their by-laws, organize their administration and activities and formulate their programmes in the defence of workers’ interests without interference from the public authorities.
6. 366. In this connection, the Committee notes the reference made by the Government to the visit of a High-level ILO Mission in May 2014. The Committee recalls that the objective of the Mission, requested by the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference, was to assess the situation with respect to the issues raised under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), but further observes that the Mission had the opportunity to discuss the developments concerning freedom of association in the country and possible solutions and the way forward with the Government and the social partners. The Mission welcomed the willingness expressed by Government representatives at various levels to amend the Labour Law in order to bring it into full conformity with the ILO principles on freedom of association and, in this regard, learned that the Labour Law amendments submitted to the Office on October 2013 and examined by the Committee in March 2014 were not the most recent amendments. The Committee further understands that a recent resolution by the National Labour Conference calls for the preparation of the necessary groundwork for the ratification of Conventions Nos 87, 98 and 138.
7. 367. Noting that the proposed amendments to the Labour Law were currently pending in Parliament, the Committee expects that the legislation and accompanying regulations will be effectively amended without delay so as to bring them into full conformity with the principles of freedom of association, including by allowing for trade union pluralism at all levels. It encourages the Government to accept the technical assistance of the Office in this regard and, in this framework, to transmit to it the latest version of the draft legislation, with a view to ensuring its full conformity with the principles of freedom of association as set out in the Constitution of the ILO and the applicable Conventions.
8. 368. The Committee deeply regrets that no information has been provided by the Government on the measures taken to address the remaining outstanding recommendations. With regard to the registration of the SVATH union, the Committee recalls that the legislative obstacle raised in this case is the issue of organizational monopoly enshrined in the current Labour Law rendering the registration of organizations outside the existing structures impossible. Pending the implementation of the legislative reforms, the Committee therefore once again urges the Government to indicate the concrete measures taken in relation to the de facto recognition of the SVATH union, irrespective of its non-affiliation to the Confederation of Iranian Workers’ Trade Unions.
9. 369. The Committee further once again requests the Government to provide a detailed report of the findings of the State General Inspection Organization (SGIO) and the Headquarters for the Protection of Human Rights into the allegations of workplace harassment during the period of the union’s founding, from March to June 2005. It once again requests the Government, in light of the information revealed by these investigations, to take the necessary measures to ensure that all employees at the company are effectively protected against any form of discrimination related to their trade union membership or their trade union activities. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard, as well as to provide a copy of the court judgment on the action initiated by the union concerning the attacks on union meetings in May and June 2005.
10. 370. The Committee recalls that it had previously welcomed the Government’s request for ILO technical cooperation for the training of its disciplinary forces for the proper management of labour protests and expects that the Government will engage with the Office in this respect without delay. The Committee further notes the interest expressed by the Government to conduct, in collaboration with the ITC–ILO, a training course on international labour standards for the judiciary and requests the Government to keep it informed on the progress made in this regard.