Hepco factory workers block the country's north-south railway route in protest of their job conditions

Workers at the Hepco factory in Arak blocked the north-south railway route in Iran on the third day of their protests over unpaid wages and the uncertainty of their employment status. These workers began their protest on May 13 by gathering in the factory grounds and in front of the Hepco company building, and on May 14 and 15, they moved their protest route to the North and South railway lines. These workers have said that they will not leave the tracks until their situation is clarified.

The factory has nearly 900 workers who have not received their salaries for three months.

According to videos posted online, these protesting workers chanted slogans such as " Security is a fake, hollow authority. " They also held placards with sentences such as " Paying a salary every three months will not cure our pain. " These workers have not received their salaries for three months.

Davud Mirzaei, the executive secretary of the Arak Workers' House, said on April 14 that the president must personally intervene to quell these protests. Emphasizing the problems of the Hepco factory workers, Mirzaei told ISNA news agency : " Currently, the workers and their families are struggling with the negative consequences of this action and are living in difficulty. "

Stating that the Arak governorate is unable to solve the problems of nearly 900 workers of this factory, he said : " They need the president's personal intervention in this matter. " He said that these workers are not political activists but are only pursuing their union demands. " The problem of Hepco is a major natural disaster such as floods and earthquakes, and the country's crisis management headquarters should solve this problem with the president's personal order. Most of the workers of this company are veterans and warriors of the country and never have a political view of the country as a whole and are seeking to revive Hepco and fulfill their union demands. "

However, the Iranian president has not yet responded to the demands to resolve the problems of the Hepco workers. During the protests last year, the factory workers were paid two months of their arrears with the intervention of the president, but they are facing wage arrears again.

The Arak website today wrote that on April 14, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhundi promised to solve the problems of the Hepco factory workers for the umpteenth time in a meeting with reporters, saying : " The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade is following up on the problems of this company and will definitely take the necessary plans and decisions to solve them. "

The Hepco factory is one of the largest road construction machinery manufacturers in Iran, which began operating in 1975 in collaboration with international companies. The factory came under government supervision after the revolution, but was privatized in 2007 and has faced serious problems since the early 1990s, and workers at the factory have repeatedly protested over unpaid wages and union problems in recent years. For example, in January 2016, workers at the factory protested for eight consecutive days. Also, on September 18, 2017, a large gathering of Hepco workers, along with a gathering of workers at “Azarab Construction Industries,” was met with a massive attack by the Anti-Riot Guard.

A labor activist told the campaign that day: "The police and riot police attacked and arrested and beat everyone in front of them and took them to the security police. We still don't know how many people were arrested or what charges they have been charged with, but we are talking about twenty or thirty detainees."

Also, on April 13 ( the first day of the new round of protests ) , a worker attempted suicide but was saved with the help of his colleagues. ILNA news agency reported that on the morning of April 13, workers gathered in front of the Hepco company building and that one of the workers attempted suicide by jumping off the Shahid Bakhtiari Bridge but was eventually saved with the help of his colleagues. However, it is not clear from this news whether the worker threw himself off the bridge or was saved before jumping off. Also  The current status of this worker is also unknown.

Currently, around 900 workers are working at the Hepco Arak factory, facing unfair wages, wage demands, and an uncertain job future.

Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign