Following the brutal suppression of municipal workers in Takab on March 3, 2025, ILC sent a letter to international trade unions and labor organizations. This letter documents the police shooting at protesting workers and describes it as part of the systematic repression of the labor movement in Iran.

According to the report, security forces fired at the peaceful gathering of workers who were protesting unpaid wages and overdue payments. At least four workers were injured, with two in critical condition. The letter highlights that this incident follows a long-standing pattern of state violence against workers in Iran, including the 2004 shooting of miners in Khatunabad and the deadly crackdowns on economic protests in 2017 and 2019.

The letter urges international trade unions to take immediate action by condemning the attack, increasing diplomatic pressure, and documenting this repression in human rights organizations and the International Labour Organization (ILO). It also emphasizes the importance of global solidarity in defending Iranian workers’ rights, warning that continued silence will only embolden the Islamic Republic to escalate its anti-labor violence.

To Our Esteemed Colleagues,

We address this letter to you as yet another testament to the ongoing systematic repression of workers in Iran.

On March 3, 2025, security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran opened fire on Tekab municipality workers in West Azerbaijan province as they staged a peaceful protest against unpaid wages and overdue payments. Reports indicate that at least four workers—Amir Raha, Maqsood Qorbanpour, Iraj Moradi, and Hamid Novidi—were injured, with two in critical condition requiring urgent surgery. This brutal act is not only an instance of state violence against workers but also part of a long-standing pattern in which the regime responds to legitimate labor demands with bullets.

The Islamic Republic’s police forces have repeatedly attacked labor protests, subjecting workers to beatings, arrests, and imprisonment. This is not the first time armed force has been used against workers. In 2003, under the so-called “reformist” government of Mohammad Khatami, security forces fired upon striking workers at the Khatunabad copper mine in Kerman province, killing four workers and a student while wounding many others. Similarly, during the economic protests of December 2017 and November 2019, when workers and marginalized communities took to the streets against rising costs and poverty, government forces carried out mass killings, including the direct shooting of protesters, leaving thousands dead. These repressions are not isolated incidents but reflect an institutionalized policy that deprives workers of their basic rights and meets their rightful demands with deadly force.

In the case of the recent Tekab crackdown, security forces have actively sought to erase evidence of their crimes from public records, while state and local officials have refused to take responsibility. This comes alongside an ongoing campaign of repression that includes criminalizing strikes and protests, arresting and imprisoning labor activists, issuing threats and summonses, enforcing workplace suspensions and dismissals, and systematically exposing workers to conditions of economic and physical annihilation. Through these actions, the Islamic Republic not only suppresses workers but, in effect, wages a campaign of systematic extermination against them, trampling on their right to life and safety.

These crackdowns constitute blatant violations of fundamental labor rights, including the right to organize, as enshrined in Conventions No. 87 and 98 of ILO. While Iran has not ratified these conventions, as a member of the ILO, it is obligated to uphold their principles. The right of workers to assemble peacefully in pursuit of their rights is inherently protected under these conventions, and its suppression is a direct violation. Furthermore, the shooting of unarmed protesters is a breach of Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the right to life), which Iran endorsed in 1948, and Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the right to peaceful assembly), which Iran ratified in 1975. These violations place an even greater responsibility on international bodies to take immediate action.

We urge all labor unions, international federations, and workers’ rights organizations to:

• Unequivocally condemn this crime and intensify international pressure on the Islamic Republic.
• Document this violent repression as a blatant violation of workers’ and human rights in reports against the Islamic Republic and utilize these records to pursue legal action in institutions such as the ILO and the United Nations Human Rights Council.
• Take active measures to support protesting workers in Iran and demand that their respective governments impose diplomatic and tangible pressures on those responsible for these crimes.

We firmly believe that global labor solidarity and independent labor organizations can play a decisive role in confronting these repressions. The Tekab incident is a dire warning—silence in the face of these atrocities only paves the way for their continuation.

We look forward to your immediate and effective response.

Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad

March 5, 2025

* An image of two injured workers, published by the Iranian state labor news agency with the same quality.