Haft Tapeh workers' protests enter second month; security agents arrest 4 workers

Reports indicate that on the thirtieth day of the Haft Tapeh workers' protests, four protesting workers were arrested by the Susa Intelligence and Security Police.

The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Union announced this news on its Telegram channel on Tuesday, July 14, writing that Yousef Bahmani, Muslim Cheshmkhavar, Ebrahim Abbasi Manjari, and Mohammad Khanifari are the four workers who have been arrested by the Susa Intelligence and Security Police.

According to this report, after being transferred from the Shush Police Station to the Shush City Courthouse, the arrested workers were transferred to Fajr Dezful Prison despite providing their pay slips and documents for their release.

Previously, on Monday, July 13, the Haft Tapeh Workers' Syndicate announced the arrest of Mir Mohammad Vali, a journalist who was present at the company's labor protests, and wrote that the journalist and his colleague were arrested by the Susa Intelligence and Security Police, and that there is no information about their condition yet.

This labor union, while condemning the arrest of these workers, has called for their immediate and unconditional release.

While a month has passed since the Haft Tapeh workers' protests, these workers say that nearly four months into 2019, they have only received one month of their wages.

Continuing these protests, Haft Tapeh workers demonstrated again on Tuesday, July 14, in front of the Shush Governorate, holding placards with their demands, demanding that their labor demands be addressed as soon as possible.

Previously, Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers went on strike for 21 days in November 2018 to protest the non-payment of their arrears. The protesters believed that the private sector employer was incapable of managing the factory and that the workers' council could run the Haft Tappeh sugarcane complex better than the employer.

While Iran is facing an economic crisis and labor protests continue, Islamic Republic officials have had security clashes with union protests, including those of Haft Tappeh workers, in recent years.

The United States has repeatedly condemned Iran's security crackdown on workers. Earlier, the US State Department's Persian Twitter account posted a message stating that "the Islamic Republic regime could have paid the salaries of workers in Iran with the money it spent in Syria."

Source: Voice of America