The workers of Alborz Lastic, formerly Kian Tyre, stepped up their protest for 17 months’ unpaid wages by burning tyres at the factory and in front of the local sheriff’s office.

The following is based on a report published on October 24, 2010, by the Free Trade Union of Iranian Workers.

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When the workers of Alborz Lastic saw no opportunity of getting their demands met by the end of office hours on October 24, they began burning tyres at the factory and opposite the Chahardangeh Sheriff’s Office from 10am until noon.

The enraged workers also pulled down all banners tied to the factory’s railings praising the Sheriff of Chahardangeh as a model sheriff and burned them. 

At the same time as the protest at the factory, workers’ representatives went to the Ministry of Industry from 11am and had a meeting to address their demands. At the meeting, the Ministry of Industry officials first of all tried to put pressure on the representatives by reminding them that many of the workers had not been paid for 17 months and had not made the slightest complaint about it.

The Alborz Lastic workers’ representatives said that the officials were proud of not paying workers for 17 months and keeping them hungry! But the reps wanted to clarify the workers’ situation and have their unpaid wages paid, and if the workers’ demands are not met then the next day (October 25) they will gather in front of the Ministry of Industry - and the reps will not be responsible for this.

Following these statements by the Alborz Lastic workers’ reps, Ministry of Industry officials announced that a 5 billion toman ($4,817,884) loan will shortly to be paid to the factory. The boss of Alborz Lastic also promised to pay the remaining 50 per cent of workers’ August wages into their accounts by midnight on October 24 and that over the next few days forty tonnes of raw materials will arrive at the factory.

In view of the agreement between the workers’ representatives, the employer and Ministry of Industry officials on October 24, Alborz Lastic workers have announced that if by October 25 the arrangements have not been acted on then from Tuesday October 26 they will resume their protests.

Source: Free Trade Union of Iranian Workers
24 October 2010

Translated by Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network

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Alborz Lastic, formerly Kian Tyre, is the oldest tyre manufacturer in Iran. It was founded in 1958 as the BF Goodrich subsidiary in Iran and re-named Kian Tyre in 1976 after it was sold to Iranian capitalists. After the revolution it was nationalised and in 1994 it was partly (60%) privatised.  In 2001 it was re-named Alborz Lastic.

Re-posted from PCS

8 September 2010

Two of the UK's biggest public sector unions, UNISON and PCS, representing 1.7 million workers, have pledged to forge a powerful alliance to fight back against the coalition government's cuts to jobs and services.

The unions are joining forces to campaign, co-ordinate and, where possible, take action in unity and support of each other.

The government’s assault on the public sector threatens the livelihoods of 750,000 public sector workers. Job losses are already leading to drastic cuts to services that people rely on especially the poor, the old and vulnerable.

The unions will campaign together to build support for a realistic alternative to the cuts agenda. One that would protect and create jobs to secure the economic recovery, tax the banks, big business and the super-rich. They will also campaign for the non-renewal of Trident, to put an end to wasteful spending on consultancy and agency staff, against expensive privatisation, and to build a fairer society.

Working together we can build an effective fighting machine to combat the cuts and protect vital jobs and services

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:  "This is no paper policy, this alliance has teeth.  Working together we can build an effective fighting machine to combat the cuts and protect vital jobs and services.  And, when the circumstances are right, we will take action together.

"Across the country UNISON will work with the PCS to promote an alternative economic vision to the Con Dems’ monosyllabic cuts agenda.  We want to build a fairer future for all, not just a haven for the super-rich."

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "The millionaires in David Cameron's cabinet insist that we are 'all in this together'. But low-paid public sector workers and other vulnerable members of our society do not share this view when they can see the government's plans seek to punish them for the mistakes of bankers and financial speculators.

"Our alliance with UNISON is a crucial first step towards building the kind of united opposition that will be needed to oppose the government's spending cuts that will tear communities apart and destroy the public services we all rely on. PCS is committed to an alternative programme of economic growth, collecting the £120 billion in taxes avoided, uncollected and evaded each year, creating jobs, curbing the use of civil service consultants and reducing waste.”

The unions are setting up a national liaison group to promote joint activity and co-ordinate a national campaign together. The group will work with the TUC and co-ordinate public sector alliances across central and local government.

To forge the partnership further PCS and UNISON are organising a There is an alternative event with the aim of bringing together trade unionists, politicians, academics, voluntary and community groups.

Across regions the unions will twin officers and organisers, developing regional campaign teams, regional events and roadshows building on links with voluntary groups.

At local level the unions will develop support links between members and activists including joint workplace and public meetings and joint local activities.

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• For information and interview requests, contact PCS national press officer Richard Simcox on 07833 978216, or PCS journalist Dave Tilley on 020 7801 2744
• For more information from the  UNISON Press and Broadcasting office call Anne Mitchell on 0207 383 0717

A settlement has been reached over allegations Seventeen Incorporated, who supplies clothes to many well-known retailers, subjected workers to sweatshop-like conditions. Around fifty minimum-wage workers said they were forced to work twelve-hour shifts, sometimes back to back, without breaks or overtime for six days a week. The workers also say they were exposed to harmful chemicals, insect and rodent infestation, and were not able to leave the factory at nighttime in case of emergency. Under the settlement, workers will receive compensation for unpaid overtime. And in what prosecutors call an unprecedented provision for a US-based factory, Seventeen agreed to allow an independent monitor to observe the factory for one year.

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**PRESS RELEASE**
Wednesday, September 1, 2010

GARMENT FACTORY OWNERS AGREE TO SETTLEMENT FOR WORKPLACE VIOLATIONS

LOS ANGELES – The City Attorney’s Office today announced that a settlement
has been reached with the owners and operators of a South Los Angeles
garment contractor sued for failing to pay employees overtime and maintaining
sweatshop conditions in the factory. The case was handled by Assistant City
Attorneys Jim Colbert and Jerry Baik, and Deputy City Attorneys Julia Figueira-
McDonough, Andrew Wong, and Akili Nickson of the City Attorney’s Office
Complex Litigation Section.

The settlement will bring long overdue compensation for unpaid overtime to all
identifiable employees, and will require the presence of an independent monitor
in the factory who will oversee their compliance with all workplace laws. The
agreement by defendants to pay for an independent monitor is the first of its kind
for a domestic garment manufacturer.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2009, alleged that Seventeen, Inc. and its predecessor,
Q&I, Inc., along with their owners and operators, required their employees to
work twelve hour shifts, sometimes two or three shifts back to back, without any
overtime pay or rest breaks, six days a week. The complaint also alleged that the
defendants falsified time and payroll records to conceal the underpayment of
their employees.

The lawsuit further alleged hazardous and unhealthy workplace
conditions, including unsanitary bathrooms without working plumbing or clean
water, cockroach and rodent infestation, and exposure to harmful chemicals and
fine fabric dust during the production of garments. The lawsuit also alleged that
access to exits was often blocked by debris, and exits were locked at night,
leaving night shift workers with no way to exit the property in case of emergency.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Cindy Shin - PIO
(213) 978-3347 (office)
From the Office of the City Attorney
Carmen A. Trutanich

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Big retailers like Macy's use factories Like Seventeen Inc. to supply their clothes. In 2008, another of Macy's garment suppliers, this time in New York was exposed of more of the same.

See this article: http://consumerist.com/2008/07/sweatshop-in-queens-produced-clothes-for-macys-the-gap-banana-republic-urban-apparel-and-victorias-s.html

New York Governor David Paterson has signed into law a measure establishing a landmark set of working standards for housekeepers, nannies and other domestic workers. With the signing of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, New York becomes the first state where domestic workers will be guaranteed overtime pay after a forty-hour workweek, at least one day off per week, and at least three days off with full pay per year. 


The passage of the bill comes after a six-year organizing campaign by Domestic Workers United, an organization led by immigrant nannies, housekeepers and elderly caregivers. Labor organizers are now hoping other states will enact similar laws to protect domestic workers who for decades have not been covered by federal labor laws, including the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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http://www.nationaldomesticworkeralliance.org/campaigns/ny-domestic-workers-bill-of-rights