Nearly two months have passed now since the arrest of Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Tehran bus workers’ union.

Also still in custody in Iran, with friends seriously concerned for his health without medical treatment, is Mahmoud Salehi, the former President of the Saquez bakers’ union, jailed for his role in organising May Day celebrations.

Mansour Osanloo is 48 years old. In 2004, he and 14 other bus workers in Tehran started an independent trade union, which very quickly signed up the majority of the city’s bus workers, leaving the state-sponsored union, the Islamic Workers’ Council. Since then, the bus workers have become a rallying point for free unions in the country, and have taken effective actions. When Mansour was arrested in 2005, bus drivers started giving rides for free in protest until he was released, bringing the city to a standstill after armed guards were sent in to break up their action. They have also successfully stood up to a ruling that women could only use the 20% of seats at the back of their buses. This has come at a heavy price though – including arrests and the severe beating of their families and children by the Iranian branch of Hezbollah.

Mahmoud Salehi is 45 years old, and married with two children. Born into poverty in the city of Saqez in Iranian Kurdistan, Mahmoud started working in bakery and tailoring at the age of 6. Mahmoud joined the newly founded Saqez bakers’ union at the age of 17, and since helped organise events for free unions and May Day celebrations – work that has seen him incarcerated three times before now. Mahmoud has only one kidney and is said to be suffering from kidney stones, heart and intestinal problems, and needs medical treatment outside of prison.

Unionists from many organisations in the UK will be helping to step up protests this Thursday (9th August) at the Iranian Embassy in London, as part of a worldwide day of action for the two men. The demo, called by the ITF, will be running from 12-2pm, so if you get a lunchbreak in Central London, come along and join us for a bit. You can find a map here.

And if you can’t be in London, mark the day by blogging something about Mansoor and Mahmoud, and help keep the pressure on Iran.

If you’ve not yet done so, there are online petitions here (ITF – Mansour Osanloo) and here (LabourStart – Mahmoud Salehi) that could do with your signature.