A/HRC/28/70 VI. Economic, social, and cultural rights A. Economic rights 1. Right to organize and collectively bargain 115. In August 2014, hundreds of workers from the Bafgh Iron Ore Mine protested the arrest of nine of their colleagues, following strikes, which had begun in May 2014 over a Government plan to privatize the mines.89 116. In December 2014, at least three members of the Coordinating Committee to help form Workers’ Organizations in Iran were arrested. 117. Other trade unionists and labor rights leaders imprisoned in Iran for protected activities include: Messrs. Reza Shahabi; Sharokh Zamani; Yousef Ab-Kharabat; Vahed Seyedeh; Afshin Nadimi; Mahmood Bagheri; Abdolreza Ghabari; and Rasoul Bodaghi. The following four trade unionists and labor rights activists have been convicted for exercising protected rights but are awaiting the outcomes of appeals: Messrs. Khaled Hossein; AliAkbar Baghani; Mahmood Beheshti-Langaroudi; and Alireza Hashemi. Finally, at least six labor rights leaders have been sentenced to prison terms for protected activities and are at immediate risk of arrest to serve those terms: Messrs. Hassan Rassoulnejad; Jamal Minashiri; Hadi Tanoumand; Ghassem Mostafapour; Ebrahim Mostafapour; and Mr. Mohammad Karimi.90 118. In its reply to the Draft Report, the Government of Iran claims that no labor leaders have been arrested for their defense of labor rights, and that the country’s failure to accede to the two ILO conventions dealing with freedom of association has no negative impact on policy. 2. Labor actions permitted by authorities 119. Some labor groups have been permitted to advocate for their rights, including through ongoing actions by hundreds of workers at places like the Stephan Cement Company in Dizicheh, Esfahan Province, and by Yaz Khorramshahr Industry workers. 120. In August 2014, the head of administrative affairs at the security office of the IranShahr Steam Power Plant claimed that the plant discriminated against members of the Balouch minority group. According to Mr. Mohammad Anvar Amiri, less than 40 of 400 employees there of the Balouch minority group, and more than 85% of plant supervisors were non-Balouch.91 Balouch people largely inhabit the region the plant is in. 121. In December 2014, around 700 nurses protested outside of the President’s residence in Tehran against massive disparities in pay between doctors and nurses, the Government’s failure to define nurse’s pay in accordance with the law, and to draw awareness to the dwindling number of nurses in the country.92 122. Also in December, around 900 workers from the Pars Wagon Factory went on strike to protest the dismissal by authorities of their workers’ representative.93 89 90 91 92 93 44 http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2014/08/bafgh-workers-strike/. https://www.fidh.org/International-Federation-for-Human-Rights/asia/iran/16851-iran-imprisonedunionists-face-new-unfair-trials-and-extended-prison-terms. http://www.ilna.ir/news/news.cfm?id=195781. http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2014/12/141214_nm_protest_nurse_hospital. http://ilna.ir/news/news.cfm?id=237971.