Dozens of workers at the National Steel Group were arrested and sent to a drug detention center.
The Free Union of Iranian Workers announced the arrest of dozens of workers from the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group in Ahvaz from Monday night, June 11, to Tuesday, June 12.
According to this union, nearly 50 workers were arrested by a special police unit during a rally held on Monday night in Kianpars Square in Ahvaz.
According to the report, at least 15 workers were also arrested during a rally held in front of the Khuzestan governor's office on Tuesday.
The Free Workers Union of Iran has published the names of 32 of the arrested workers.
The labor organization noted that the arrested workers are being held in a drug police detention center. The Free Union of Workers of Iran called the action a “brutal insult to the Iranian working class.”
Meanwhile, the rally of workers from the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group continued on Tuesday in front of the Khuzestan Governorate, demanding the release of their colleagues.
According to videos posted on social media, protesting workers chanted: "The imprisoned worker must be freed."
The Free Union of Iranian Workers has also announced that at least eight workers have been released, and at the same time, protesters have been told that the workers involved in Monday's attack on the offices of three members of parliament in Ahvaz will remain in custody, while the rest will be released.
However, workers at the National Steel Industrial Group of Iran have declared, "If anyone is going to be detained for protesting at the representatives' offices, we should all be detained because this protest was carried out by all of us workers."
According to the report, workers at this large industrial unit said: "Those who have not paid their wages for three months and who have brought about the current situation due to competition over the factory's takeover and looting should be arrested and thousands of workers' families faced unbearable hardships and problems."
In their marches and rallies over the past few months, workers have repeatedly protested the performance of the private employer, the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group.
Meanwhile, according to a film released by the Free Union of Iranian Workers, a worker, in a speech criticizing why those who created the current situation at the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group should not be held accountable for their actions, said: "I should be arrested and held accountable? I should be held accountable? What kind of law is this?"
A new round of union protests by workers at the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group began eight days ago. They have been striking, rallied, and marching for several months to protest the non-payment of arrears of wages and the incompetence of the private owner of the unit.
Meanwhile, according to ILNA news agency, Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, said on Tuesday, without mentioning the reason for the workers' arrest, that the governor's office is following up on the situation of the detained workers.
He attributed the protests of workers at the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group to the lack of raw materials and wage arrears. The workers have not been paid their wages or insurance premiums for three months.
According to ILNA, four thousand workers of this large industrial unit are also demanding clarification of the company's ownership status and follow-up on their supplementary insurance and social security insurance problems.
According to reports, their medical records are not being renewed due to non-payment of insurance premiums.
The ownership status of the National Steel Group of Iran is also unclear. Officials from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare and the Khuzestan Governorate have said that its ownership has been returned to Bank Melli, but according to reports, private owner Abdolreza Mousavi and his managers are still present in the company.
Source: Radio Farda
