Continued Worker Protests in Khuzestan; Thousands of Demonstrators in Downtown Ahvaz
Labor protests continue in the two cities of Shush and Ahvaz. Workers at Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company have completed their twenty-fourth day, and workers at the National Steel Industrial Group have completed their nineteenth day of protests.
Workers at Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company held a demonstration and protest today despite the commander of the police force in Shush announcing that gatherings in the city are prohibited.
The Free Union of Iranian Workers reported, citing some workers from Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company, that members of Shush’s security assurance council met with members of Haft Tappeh’s workers’ representative assembly and “under pressure and threats” demanded they “declare an end to the strike.”
Meanwhile, Gholamreza Shariati, governor of Khuzestan, said: “Workers are expected to return to work,” because, according to him, “under these sanctions conditions, we must act in accordance with resistance economy, which means increasing production.”
Earlier this week, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, head of Iran’s Judiciary, said action should be taken against those who want to make “instrumental use of workers’ demands and disrupt the country’s order.”
Ismail Bakhshi, one of the representatives of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company workers, is currently in detention and, according to his lawyer, faces “security charges.”
Mr. Bakhshi, along with “Sepideh Golian,” a civil activist, remain in detention while a Ministry of Labor official had previously stated that Ismail Bakhshi’s case is “security-related” and the Ministry of Labor cannot intervene in this case.
Workers at Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company and Agriculture seek payment of their salaries, which had not been paid for four months. Earlier this week, two months’ salaries were transferred to these workers, and officials promised to pay the remaining overdue wages in December.
Haft Tappeh workers also demand the removal of privatization of this factory and its management by a workers’ council.
Meanwhile, workers at the National Steel Industrial Group also continued their protest for the nineteenth consecutive day. These workers demand the resumption of production, the transfer of ownership of this complex from the National Bank back to the government, and full payment of their overdue wages. These workers have not received salaries for three months.
Simultaneously with the intensification of security and judicial measures against protesting Haft Tappeh workers, Heather Nauert, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, wrote on Monday evening, November 19, in a tweet with the hashtag “Haft Tappeh workers”: “Khamenei claims that no true democracy exists in the world like in Iran. Reminder: In true democracies, workers who engage in peaceful protests for their rights and wages are not arrested.”
Source: Voice of America
