Labor Day: A Tribute to the Unyielding Spirit of Iran’s Workers

September 1, 2024 – On this Labor Day, observed in the United States, Canada, and Australia, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) honors the resilient and courageous workers and labor rights leaders of Iran—individuals who serve their nation with immeasurable dedication, often under conditions unworthy of their sacrifices.

These are the nurses who strike not just for their own survival, but so they can continue the noble work of saving lives, and the sugarcane factory workers, oil workers, teachers, and bus drivers who are all the backbone of a nation, but whose government sees their sweat and toil as mere tools for its own survival.

Iran is a founding member of the International Labor Organization (ILO), yet shamefully violates all its Fundamental Principles, including the right to form independent unions and to strike. Instead, it crushes peaceful labor activism with violence and imprisons those who seek to defend the rights of Iran’s workers.

The names of Hassan Saiedi, Reza Shahabi, Davoud Razavi, Esmail Gerami, Osman Esmaili, Rasoul Bodaghi, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, and Esmail Abdi and are etched in the struggle for workers’ rights. These individuals have been imprisoned for their efforts to defend labor rights.

Women activists face especially harsh treatment—Sharifeh Mohammadi, for instance, is currently facing a death sentence.

Despite being a member of the ILO and a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)—which guarantee the right to independently organize, collectively bargain, and strike—Iran continues to treat peaceful labor rights advocacy as a national security offense.

This ongoing repression calls for international solidarity, especially from labor unions around the world that have the ability to collectively organize and expose the harsh realities faced by labor activists in Iran.

Today, we pay tribute to those who have stood, and continue to stand, in the face of great adversity for the rights of workers in Iran. Their struggle is not just a fight for fair wages or safer conditions but a battle for the dignity and respect that every human being deserves.

There will come a day when the sweat and toil of these brave souls will be fully honored, and the seeds of their labor will blossom into a future where their contributions are celebrated as they so richly deserve. Their legacy will endure, shining as a testament to the unbreakable spirit of those who stand up for what is right, no matter the cost.