Sungun mine workers have been pursuing their demands for several months now. In continuation of their protests, these workers went on strike on July 5 in Ahanajin, Mobin, Navavaran, Zahal and Naday Rahavi companies to pursue their demands and to protest against the broken promises and the arrest of two of their colleagues. They gathered in the mine area. But not only the workers were not given an answer, but on the third day the government Special Forces were sent to suppress the workers. They arrested at least 7 workers.
This strike continued until July 8. At 1 a.m. on July 8, Hossein Fathi, the director general of East Azerbaijan Labor Department, along with the director of the mine complex and the police commander of the province, came to the workers and tried to calm down the situation. But the workers refused to listen because Fathi was the one who on the official TV network, had denied that it has been repressions against the workers. The workers declared that they are not willing to negotiate as long as their representatives are under arrest.
The strike ended on the evening of Saturday, July 9, with the promises of the provincial officials and the employer of the complex to fulfil the workers’ demands, including the demand to equalize the payments and release the detained workers. However, after the end of the strike, more protesting workers were arrested and some of them were fired or are on the firing list. For example, on Sunday, July 17, the management blocked the access cards of about 30 workers working in Ahan Ajin company and prevented them from entering the mine. These workers have 15 to 25 years of work experience and their contracts have not expired. It should be mentioned that during the strike days of these workers, the management had brought in a number of new workers from other cities to work temporarily. But now has kept about forty of them at work apparently to prepare the ground for firing some of the protesting workers.
On the other hand, on Saturday, July 16 and 17, around 15 protesting workers from Mobeen and Ahan Ajin contracting companies of Sungun mine were arrested by the security agencies. These workers were summoned to the Information Department by phone on July 15. After visiting, they were arrested and took to Ahar prison.
Currently, there is an atmosphere of anger and protest among the workers.
Many workers unions and social organisations have condemned these arrests and called for their unconditional and immediate release. Including the Council of Retired People of Iran, the Free Union of Iranian Workers, a group of Haft Tape sugar cane workers, four organizations of Iran’s Mechanical Metal Workers’ Union, the pensioners of the Needle Weavers Union, the pensioners of the printing industry and the pensioners of auto company of Shahab Khodro.
Free Them Now condemns the brutal suppression of Sungun mine workers and calls on all the international workers unions and human organisations to protest the Islamic regime of Iran for arresting and supressing the Sungun mine workers.
July23, 2022
Free Them Now (FTN)