Reports from Iran indicate that a number of labor activists were arrested following an International Workers' Day rally in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Workers' House in Tehran.
Iran's labor news agency, ILNA, reported on Tuesday, May 1, that at least six people were arrested during a rally of workers and teachers in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
Some news on social media indicates that more people have been arrested.
Workers who gathered in front of the Workers' House in Tehran protested against the lack of permission to march on International Workers' Day.
The workers also chanted: "Death to the oppressor, peace to the worker," and "The imprisoned worker must be freed."
A number of workers also called for the resignation of the Minister of Labor.
The protesting workers demanded job security and reform of temporary contracts, and protested low wages and lack of health insurance coverage.
Another group of workers also gathered in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and chanted slogans in support of the workers' demands and protesting the failure to issue a Labor Day march.
Other reports indicate that, simultaneously with the International Labor Day rallies in Tehran, a number of labor activists were also arrested in other cities, including Saqqez.
According to these reports, security forces and police clashed with protesters in Saqqez and arrested Mahmoud Salehi and Othman Esmaili, two labor activists.
In recent days, border cities in western Iran have witnessed strikes and protest rallies by workers, kolbars, and traders in border markets.
The International Workers' Day rallies were held this year at a time when workers in many regions of Iran have been on strike or holding protest rallies over the past year.
Some reports indicate that around six thousand labor rallies have been held in the past year. Among them, the rallies of Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers, Ahvaz Steel, and Tabriz Hepco were more prominent than others.
In these rallies, workers have protested against months of unpaid salaries, mass layoffs, uncertainty following the transfer of factories to the private sector, and low wages.
Source: Voice of America
