There were five major labor protests in cities across Iran on Monday, October 21, an extension of the uprising that has been raging for nearly two years. Here, we will look at them in more detail.
In Naqadeh, northwest Iran, Kharadajh Company workers held a protest rally outside the local mayor’s office and initiated a strike to demand their seven-month delayed paychecks. They also held a rally outside the Naqadeh Labor Department, where they insisted they would not back down.
In Ahvaz, southwest Iran, over 100 Communications Department employees rallied outside the Khuzestan Province Central Communications Building to protest delays in their paychecks and pensions. They chanted:
– “[Officials] have shame, give us what is rightfully ours”
– “No to living in shame!”
In Bandar Mahshahr, a city in southwest Iran, Farabi petrochemical site employees began a strike over not receiving they’re delayed already paychecks and pensions.
In Mashhad, northeast Iran, more than 100 Ferdowsi power plant project workers protested over their unpaid wages for the past few months. The Mapna company, which is overseeing the project, said it has paid the contracting company so workers should have received their money.
In Shush, southwest Iran, Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company employees continued their rallies and strike over the expulsion of their colleagues and lack of job security, as well as to demand the cancellation of “privatization” plans by company officials.
In related news, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has issued a statement on the protests by Azarab factory workers in Arak, western Iran, which have continued for 12 consecutive days despite “repeated threats and suppressive measures by the regime”.
The NCRI said that workers blocked the Tehran-Ahvaz railway in protest to a lack of response to their demands and the security forces attacked them with teargas, attempting to disperse them, before arresting many of them. They also reported that many workers have been summoned and threatened by the intelligence and security agencies as a result o their peaceful activities.
Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of NCRI, hailed the courageous and resilient workers of Azarab and urged the people of Arak, especially the defiant young people, to rise in support of the protesting workers. She then urged the International Labor Organization, labor syndicates, and unions as well as all advocates of workers’ rights to condemn the anti-labor policies of the mullahs’ regime and support the rights of Iranian workers.
Source » irannewsupdate