On 11 March 2019, the workers had received only 40% of their outstanding bonuses after several protests
-On 18th March 2019, workers of non-industrial operations of Petrochemical CO in Shahrak-e Mamku in Khuzestan province, Iran, went on strike and held an assembly in front of the company’s office to protest over their unpaid wages.
-On 18th March 2019, municipality workers in Ahvaz in Khuzestan province held an assembly in front of the provincial governor’s office to protest over unpaid wages and health insurance payments.
-On 18th March 2019, expelled workers of a petroleum reservoir in Hoveyzeh in Khuzestan province, held an assembly in front of the provincial governor’s office in Ahvaz to protest against their expulsion. The workers demand their jobs back. Last month, the general director and the security services of the company ordered the dismissal of 23 workers. The reservoir is being managed by the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company.
-On 18th March 2019, municipality workers in Karaj in Alborz province held an assembly to protest against non-payment of their wages and (Iranian) New Year bonuses.
-On 18th March 2019, municipality workers in Choram in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, held an assembly in front of the municipality building to protest against non-payment of their wages and health insurance payments.
-On 17th March 2019, workers of Abadan refinery in Khuzestan province held an assembly to protest against low wages and unfair contracts. The 210 workers work in the repairs department of the refinery and have also not received their (Iranian) New Year bonuses.
-On 16th March 2019, staff of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Karaj in Alborz province held an assembly in front of the provincial governor’s office to protest against non-payment of their wages and bonuses.
-On 16th March 2019, workers of a slaughterhouse in Nahavand in Hamadan province held an assembly in front of the provincial governor’s office to protest against non-payment of their wages and lack of job security. The workers haven’t been paid for four months.
-On 16th March 2019, workers of Tehran’s bus company, who are members of a housing cooperation, held an assembly in front of the offices of the deputy executive of the Minister of Justice to protest against the failure of the authorities to meet their demands.
-On 16th March 2019, workers of section 12 of Southern Pars in Asaluyeh in Bushehr province went on strike and protested against non-payment of their wages.
-On 14th March 2019, sugar cane workers of Haft Tapeh in Khuzestan province, Iran, circulated a petition in support of their jailed leader, Esmaeil Bakhshi.
Many workers signed the petition and started a fresh protest against the workers’ representative imprisonment who is under pressure from the authorities to take back his claims of being tortured whilst he was in custody previously.
A part of the petition reads: “We, the workers of Haft Tapeh, confirm that Esmaeil Bakhshi has been our legal representative and his sole aim has been to secure workers’ rights. Therefore, we demand his immediate and unconditional release.”
-On 10th February 2019, cement workers of Sofian Cement in Tabriz, Iran, went on strike to protest against non-payment of their wages. The workers haven’t been paid for 3 months.
-On 10th February 2019, textile workers in Hamadan, Iran, went on strike and held an assembly in the factory to protest against non-payment of their wages. The workers have not been paid for 4 months.
-On 14th March 2019, workers of section 12 of Southern Pars Oil Refinery in the Persian Golf held another assembly and protested against non-payment of their wages and bonuses.
-On 14th March 2019, municipality workers and staff in Sanandaj in Kurdistan province held an assembly in front of the municipality building and protested against non-payment of their wages. Armed police tried to stop the workers but the staff confronted them and continued with the protest.
-On 14th March 2019, municipality workers in Arak in Markazi province held an assembly in front of the municipality building and protested against non-payment of their wages and bonuses.
-On 13th March 2019, municipality workers of Tohid and Sarableh in Ilam province held an assembly and protested against non-payment of their wages. The workers in Tohid haven’t been paid for 6 months.
-On 13th March 2019, slaughterhouse workers of Nahavand in Hamadan province went on strike over non-payment of their wages and held an assembly in front of the provincial governor’s office. The workers haven’t been paid for 4 moths.
-On 12th March 2019, workers of Chamshir dam in Gachsaran in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province continued their protest over non-payment of wages as the authorities failed to pay the wages as promised.
-On 11th March 2019, Esmaeil Bakhshi’s mother, along with dozens of workers held an assembly in front of the security office of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Corporation. They then marched towards the office of its board of directors and protested against Esmaeil’s continued detention.
The protest has been widely discussed in Haft Tapeh and the workers debate ways of how to fight for Esmaeil’s freedom and for their other demands which have not been met.
The judiciary has ignored all efforts from the families of Esmaeil Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholyian as well as all the assemblies and protests. The Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh has issued a statement supporting the protest of Esmaeil Bakhshi’s mother in Haft Tapeh. The statements also says: “The detainment of Esmaeil Bakhshi must end. Esmaeil is neither a criminal nor an accused. Esmaeil is a workers’ representative and has put himself at risk by defending workers and justice. We must be able to free Esmaeil with our mass protests. Esmaeil has never been alone and he is not alone now either. Esmaeil is the voice of millions of justice-seeking workers and their families. He chanted the slogan “Bread, work, freedom” along with you. He told the owners of capital to end the rightlessness. We want bread and we want freedom so that no one is imprisoned for demanding bread. And he announced that we want work, that means no one has the right to put our jobs at risk and fire us.”
-On 9th March 2019, workers of the Industry Rail company in Zahean in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, went on strike and held an assembly in front of the company’s head office to protest against non-payment of their wages.
-On 9th March 2019, staff of Parsian hospital in Tehran held an assembly in the hospital and protested against non-payment of their wages.
-On 9th March 2019, a group of expelled workers of Asaluyeh Special Economic Zone in Bushehr province held an assembly and protested against non-payment of the wages they are owed.
-On 9th March 2019, retired steelworkers of National Steel of Ahvaz held an assembly in front of the governor’s office and protested against non-payment of their pensions and bonuses. The retirees marched towards the provincial governor’s office and chanted slogans against the imposition of poverty on them and the empty promises of the authorities.
-On 9th March 2019, municipality workers in Chelgard in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province held their second day of protest against non-payment of 7 months of their wages. The workers gathered in front of the city’s municipality building and demanded immediate payment of their wages. Earlier, under pressure from the workers, the authorities had promised to pay the wages but failed to do so.
-On 10th March 2019, workers of a cement factory in Karun in Ilam province held an assembly and protested against non-payment of their wages and expulsion of workers. The workers and their families held the assembly in front of Dehloran’s judiciary building and demanded payment of their wages as well as reinstatement of the sacked workers.
-On 10th March 2019, workers of Puyesh Corporation (mechanical equipment for vegetable oil analysis and processing) held an assembly and protested against non-payment of their wages. The workers haven’t been paid for a month. In April 2018, the workers managed to bring back 10 expelled workers as they held assemblies and protested against the dismissal of their colleagues.
-On 11th March 2019, expelled workers of sections 22, 23 and 24 of Asaluyeh Special Economic Zone in Bushehr province held an assembly in the workplace and demanded renewal of their contracts.
-On 11th March 2019, municipality workers in Zirab in Mazandaran province went on strike and held an assembly to protest against non-payment of their wages. The workers, who haven’t been paid for 3 months, gathered in front of the municipality building and demanded their wages as well as their unpaid bonuses.
-On 11th March 2019, workers of Bala Khanlu dam in Qazvin province held an assembly in front of the provincial governor’s office of Qazvin and protested against non-payment of their wages. The workers haven’t been paid for 6 months.
-On 6th March 2019, Mohamdali Jedari Foroughi, lawyer of Jafar Azimzadeh, stated that the Islamic Republic’s judiciary has sentenced him to 30 lashes on top of the six years in prison. The excuse for such heinous sentence is that Jafar Azimzadeh did not respond to his summon on time.
The Islamic Republic sentenced Jafar, director of the Free Workers Union of Iran, to 6 years in prison in 2016. Just before 1 May 2016, he went on a hunger strike for 63 days and the campaign in his support and to end the militarisation of the workers’ struggle began.
As a result of the campaign, the Islamic Republic was forced to temporarily free Jafar. Now that he has been arrested again, the regime has also sentenced him to 30 lashes.
The heinous aggression is nothing but the Islamic Republic’s desperate reaction to the workers, teachers and the people of Iran who have been strongly confronting the regime with their widespread protests and strikes. There were strikes and protests in over 100 cities in Iran in the past two days alone.
-On 5th March 2019, sugar beet workers in Naqadeh in West Azerbaijan province, Iran, held an assembly in front of the sugar factory and protested against non-payment of their wages.
-On 5th and 6th March 2019, staff of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Karaj, Tehran, held assemblies in front of the governor’s office of Alborz and protested against non-payment of their wages and the financial crisis that has been imposed on them. The workers have been protesting for a long time about the situation. The hospital staff has been left without wages for over a year and the future of the institution became unclear after its sale to a private owner.
-On 5th March 2019, a group of retirees gathered in front of the offices of the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic and protested against poverty and their pensions that are below the poverty line. The retirees demanded answers to their long-standing demands. One of the slogans they chanted was: “Astronomical wages for a few and misery for the rest”.
-On 6th March 2019, municipality workers of Section 1 in Ahvaz in Khuzestan province held their 3rd day of strike and protested against non-payment of their wages. Workers of other sections have also been going on strike over non-payment of wages.
-On 6th March 2019, firefighters of several fire stations in Abadan in Khuzestan province gathered at the city’s municipality and protested against non-payment of their wages. The firefighters haven’t been paid for two months and haven’t received any overtime payments for some months before that. Firefighters in Khuzestan have been protesting against non-payment of several months of wages and one year’s worth of their bonuses. In some stations, the firefighters don’t have essential equipment such as fire retardant clothing.
-On 7th March 2019, oil workers of Section 14 of Asaluyeh Special Economic Zone in Kangan in Bushehr province went on strike and protested against non-payment of their wages.
-On 7th March 2019, teachers and retirees in several cities in Iran held assemblies in front of the Ministry of Education to protest against poverty, inequality, oppression and for their demands. The protests in Adrebil, Urmia, Mashhad, Shiraz, Hamedan, Qazvin and Kermanshah come right after the 3-day national strike of teachers that took place in over 100 cities.
-On 5th March 2019, workers of Chamshir dam in Kachsaran in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, Iran, held their 3rd day of strike and protested against non-payment of their wages in front of the city governor’s office.
-On 5th March 2019, municipality workers of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province, Iran, went on strike and protested against non-payment of their wages.
-On 5th March 2019, striking rail workers in Tabriz closed the railways at Zarei station at 8 am and protested against non-payment of their wages. The workers haven’t been paid for months.
Many workers and their families are affected by the non-payment of their wages, which has become the norm in some industries as the employers and the authorities systematically cooperate against the workers who then organise nationwide protests and strikes.
Teachers in over 100 cities in Iran hold 3-day national strike over poverty, injustice and oppression
-On 5th March 2019, teachers in Iran held their last day of a 3-day national strike which had expanded to over 100 cities. As the striking teachers shared pictures of their sit-in, Mr Amir Ali Nemat Allahi of the Ministry of Education of the Islamic Republic said: “All the pictures are photoshopped.”
The powerful and united nationwide teachers’ strike with its justified and legitimate demands compelled the government representative to deny it. However, the teachers and other people took to social media and responded by posting more pictures and video clips.
Striking teachers posted: “If they are all photoshopped, then why were the security forces and Basij militia mobilised and threatening the teachers?”, “Why don’t you visit Hamedan, Kermanshah, Karaj, Marivan, Shiraz, Jolfa Aligoodarz, Khomeni Shahr, Saqez, Isfahan, … to see the extent of the strike?”
The teachers compared the government’s denial to that of the Iranian monarchy’s head of police in 1979 in reaction to the mass protests at the time: “These are all edited recordings”.
The 3-day national strike was called by the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Associations of Iran. The participants said no to the imposition of poverty, injustice, and oppression.
The demands include:
-Release of all imprisoned teachers
-Dismissal of all security cases against teachers, workers and civil right activists
-Free education for
all
-An end to the privatisation of schools
-An end to the commercialisation of education
-Raising wages to above the poverty line
-Free healthcare for all
-Right to assembly
-Right to organise
The teachers also demand fair contracts and quality teaching for all children.
According to reports, students supported the striking teachers and retirees also shared clips to show their support for the strike.
The Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Associations of Iran has announced that they will hold other strikes if their demands are not met.
-On 5th March 2019, workers of Chamshir dam in Kachsaran in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, Iran, held their 3rd day of strike and protested against non-payment of wages in front of governor’s office of the city.
-On 5th March 2019, municipality workers of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province, Iran, went on strike and protested against non-payment of their wages.
-On 5th March 2019, striking rail workers in Tabriz closed the railways at Zarei station at 8 am and protested against non-payment of their wages. The workers who haven’t been paid for months.
Many workers and their families are affected by non-payment of their wages, which has become a norm in some industries as the employers and the authorities systematically cooperate against the workers who organise for nationwide protests and strikes.
-We are pleased to report that Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, the well-known children’s and workers’ right activist, has been released on bail.
Behnam was arrested for helping the victims of the Sarpol-e Zohab earthquake and reporting on their situation on social media. After spending 35 days in solitary confinement he was released on 4th March 2019.
-On 24th February 2019, Behnam was tried for “disrupting public order and national security” in branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court. The outcome of the trial has not been announced yet.
Iran: protests and strikes against non-payment of wages + solidarity with striking workers and jailed activists
-On 3rd March 2019, retired steelworkers of the National Steel Group of Ahvaz marched towards the governor’s office of Khuzestan province and protested against non-payment of their wages (from before their retirement) and their retirement bonuses. Members of the public supported them by joining the protest and chanting slogans against the poverty that has been imposed on them.
-On 3rd March 2019, retired steelworkers of Isfahan held an assembly in front of the governor’s office of the province and protested against non-payment of their pensions and bonuses, low standard of living and the services they receive. The retirees demand free healthcare. Put under pressure, representatives of the governor’s office held a meeting with the retirees and promised that their pensions and bonuses would be paid.
-On 2nd and 3rd March 2019, Khorasan railway staff held assemblies in support of rail workers in other cities. Many rail workers in Iran struggle with non-payment of their wages.
-On 3rd March 2019, workers of the Bus Company who are members of the Housing Cooperative of the company held an assembly in front of the Ministry of Labour and protested against failure of the authorities to meet their demands for housing.
-On 2nd March 2019, a group of teachers and activists visited the family of Mohammad Habibi, the jailed teacher activist, on the anniversary of his arrest. They demanded the release of all arrested teachers and supported the 3-day national strike of the teachers.
-On 3rd March 2019, rail workers in several cities in Iran went on strike and protested against non-payment of their wages.
In Hormozgan province, rail workers who have not been paid for 3 months held their second day of strike and gathered in Sirjan station. Freight trains were suspended for 3 hours.
In Zagros, in Ilam province, workers who have previously been protesting against non-payment of their wages held another strike. The company’s management keeps promising to pay their wages but the workers say they haven’t received any money and are tired of the empty promises.
In Lorestan province, rail workers gathered in front of the governor’s office. The workers who have been employed by a contractor (Travers Co) have been facing issues of non-payment of wages for years. Now 400 workers haven’t been paid for 3 months.
In Tabriz, rail workers also went on strike and protested against non-payment of their wages.
Non-payment of wages on top of inflation and high prices of goods have pushed many workers and their families into poverty and destitution. It’s regarded as “embezzlement, theft and crimes against workers”.
Bus drivers in Tehran protest against poverty and imposition of inhuman conditions on them
-On 2nd March a group of workers of Tehran’s bus company held an assembly in front of the Ministry of Labour and protested against the imposition of poverty on them. The workers object to low wages and the inhuman conditions they are in.
The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company has called for an assembly in front of the Ministry of Labour to demand “raising their wages to above poverty level and a humane life for all the workers and the people”.
Workers of ball bearing factory in Tabriz, Iran, hold another protest against non-payment of wages
-On 2nd March 2019, workers of a ball bearing factory in Tabriz, Iran, went on strike and held another assembly in front of the governor’s office to protest against non-payment of their wages and to express their worries about the future of their workplace.
The workers have held several protests regarding the non-payment of 7 months of their wages but the authorities refuse to pay. The factory has 220 workers.
-On 28th February 2019, unemployed youth in Asaluyeh in Bushehr province, Iran, held a protest against lack of jobs and demanded to be employed on current projects in the Special Economic Zone.
Asaluyeh is one of the biggest Special Economic Zones in Iran but many of the locals are unemployed.
Teachers in Iran start their 3-day national strike over poverty, injustice and oppression
-On 3rd March 2019, teachers in Iran began their 3-day national strike. The Coordinating Council of the Teachers’ Associations of Iran had called for the strike as the authorities failed to meet their demands and continued with the imposition of poverty, injustice and oppression.
Demands of the strikers include:
-Immediate and unconditional release of all jailed teachers
-Dismissal of all security cases against teachers, workers and civil right activists
-Free education for
all
-Release of all imprisoned teachers
-An end to the privatisation of schools
-An end to the commercialisation of education
-Raising wages to above the poverty line
-Free healthcare for all
-Right to assembly
-Right to organise
The strike took place in 30 cities, including Tehran, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Alborz, Hamedan, Isfahan, Yazd, Qazvin, and Southern Khorasan provinces.
The teachers also demand an increase in their wages to above the poverty line, fair contracts and quality teaching for all children.
-On 10th February 2019, municipality workers in Kermanshah, Iran, held an assembly to protest against non-payment of their wages. The workers who haven’t been paid for 4 months and haven’t received 8 months of their overtime pay gathered in front of the municipality building, demanding immediate payment of their wages. Many of the workers are on temporary contracts and some of them are paid less than minimum wage.