A/HRC/43/20 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not yet ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), of the International Labour Organization (ILO), but the Government indicated that a tripartite feasibility study was under way to assess the possibility of joining the conventions. 2. Restrictions on strikes 25. The Secretary-General is concerned by the reported use of excessive force to suppress industrial action and the detention and ill-treatment of labour rights activists. On 16 September 2019, in Arak, 28 workers from the Heavy Equipment Production Company 33 were arrested and several injured by security forces during protests. The Government confirmed an unspecified number of arrests but noted that no workers were detained. In August, the workers suspended a four-day protest after the authorities committed to resolving the non-payment of six months’ wages and their concerns about the privatization of the company. On 3 September and 6 October 2019, in Arak, workers at AzarAb Industries protested the non-payment of wages and the planned privatization of the company. On 20 October 2019, riot police used excessive force, injured protestors and arrested 21 workers there.34 26. It is alleged that those industrial disputes arose from the Iranian Privatization Organization engaging in corrupt practices in privatizing Government-owned companies and failing to address the protection of the rights to wages and employment. In 2019, workers in other industries throughout the Islamic Republic of Iran, including oil and gas, railways, shipping, forestry and education, reportedly protested against the non-payment of wages, dismissals and denial of benefits. At the end of June 2019, 1,193 firms were reportedly delaying the payment of wages, and 130,413 workers had been unpaid for several months.35 27. OHCHR continued to receive reports of the harassment, arbitrary detention and illtreatment of labour rights activists. On 7 September 2019, Esmail Bakhshi and Mohammad Khanifar, workers and labour rights activists at the Haft Tappeh Sugar Mill, and Sepideh Qoliyan, a supporter of the workers, were convicted on national security-related charges. Mr. Bakhshi was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment and 74 lashes, and Mr. Khanifar and Ms. Qoliyan were sentenced to 6 and 18 years’ imprisonment, respectively. On 8 September 2019, official sources reported that the head of the judiciary had ordered a review of those decisions, which remained pending as at November 2019.36 Ms. Qoliyan and Mr. Bakhshi were released after posting a large sum as bail in late October 2019.37 In November 2019, Mr. Khanifar was released on bail. 38 In recordings that she managed to release while in prison, Ms. Qoliyan stated that the authorities had again tried to force her to confess and that intelligence officials had interrogated her sister. Several workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugar Mill have been arrested for protesting against the privatization of the mill and the consistent failure to pay wages over the past three years. At least 40 labour rights activists at the Haft Tappeh Sugar Mill have been arrested in connection with 33 34 35 36 37 38 See https://en.radiozamaneh.com/labor/; www.ilna.ir/fa/tiny/news-810476 (in Farsi); https://kargaronline.ir/fa/news-details/73668/ (in Farsi); www.donya-e-eqtesad.com/fa/tiny/news3573090 (in Farsi); and www.ilna.news/fa/tiny/news-810897 (in Farsi). See www.industriall-union.org/industriall-demands-release-of-21-workers-in-iran. See https://en.radiozamaneh.com/labor/. See https://en.radiozamaneh.com/labor/; www.mizanonline.com/fa/news/548157/ (in Farsi); www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/10/iran-draconian-sentences-rights-defenders; and www.isna.ir/news/98061708524/ (in Farsi). See https://apnews.com/41a21eee75134afcb5f00a22608bbbe3; https://en.radiozamaneh.com/ 29852/; https://apnews.com/d4f71ec02d514fa49eb6764324dbe45c; http://fna.ir/dd3z98 (in Farsi); www.isna.ir/news/98080402268/ (in Farsi); and www.ilna.news/fa/tiny/news-702592 (in Farsi). See www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/iran-release-on-bail-of-6-hrds; www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/iran/2019/10/d25577/; and www.irna.ir/news/83510580/ (in Farsi). 7