Haftappeh Factory Workers Strike for Twenty-Fourth Consecutive Day; What Are Workers’ Demands
Workers at Haftappeh Sugar Factory, who began their labor protests on June 26, have gone on strike for the twenty-fourth consecutive day.
Based on video reports released and announcements from the Telegram channel of the Haftappeh Workers’ Syndicate, Wednesday, July 9, the city of Shush in Khuzestan Province witnessed widespread protests by these workers to achieve their labor demands and return this factory from the private sector. These protesters have also demanded the reinstatement of dismissed workers, including Ismail Bakhshi and Mohammad Khonifer.
The report states that this strike will continue until the demands of Haftappeh workers are met. It should be noted that Haftappeh workers have repeatedly held protest gatherings to achieve their rights and demands.
It was in November 2018 when these workers went on strike for 21 days in protest of unpaid wages owed to them. Protesting workers at Haftappeh Sugar Factory believed that the private sector employer lacks the capacity to manage the factory and that the workers’ council could better manage the Haftappeh sugar complex than the employer.
Additionally, Islamic Republic officials have used security measures against occupational protests, including those of Haftappeh workers in these years, and have sentenced some protesting workers and members of the Haftappeh Workers’ Syndicate, such as Ali Nejati, a labor activist, to long-term imprisonment.
These protests have continued under circumstances where Omid Asadbeigi, the former CEO of Haftappeh Sugar, is currently the primary defendant in a case of disruption to the currency and monetary system. In his indictment, the charge of organized leadership of disruption to the country’s currency and monetary system through large-scale currency smuggling and illegal transactions in government currencies is evident.
While Iran faces an economic crisis and labor protests continue, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson recently announced that the Islamic Republic would “continue its economic cooperation” with Syria. Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s President, also declared one of the main objectives of his government’s foreign policy to be returning the Syrian people to normal life.
The Islamic Republic continues to spend in Syria and other countries while the Iranian people have repeatedly demanded in their protests with the slogan “Leave Syria alone, think about us” that officials address Iran’s dire economic situation.
The United States has repeatedly condemned Iran’s security crackdowns on workers. The Persian-language account of the U.S. State Department on Twitter previously announced in a post that “with the expenses the Islamic Republic regime has incurred in Syria, it could have paid workers’ wages in Iran.”
Source: Voice of America
