Following the authorities’ decision to prosecute and put on trial five workers of the Arak Aluminum Company (IRALCO) for demanding their rights, the workers have announced that if their colleagues are taken to court, they will stage a sit-in and expand their protests.
According to published reports, the management of Arak Aluminum Company (IRALCO) and the city’s judicial authorities have summoned five workers to court for protests related to their rights. The names of these workers are: Mohammad Nejati, Bahman Moradbeigi, Vahid Khorshidi, Naser Sohrabi, and Ali Akbar Saberi. The court sessions are scheduled to be held on September 30 and October 7.
Moreover, ten days after the workers ended their hunger strike, none of the promises made by the governor of Arak and the company’s board of directors during their visit to the factory have been fulfilled. In fact, one of those promises was not to prosecute or fabricate charges against these very five workers. Reports indicate that the only action taken so far is the allocation of funds for the factory’s overhaul, which itself remains unclear.
In the face of these conspiracies, the protesting IRALCO workers have stood firm and declared decisively that if the trial of their five colleagues proceeds, they will escalate their protests and stage a sit-in. These workers continue to pursue their demands.
The over forty days of protests by 4,000 IRALCO workers have had such a strong impact that they have drawn broad public support. Retirees, during their own gatherings, expressed solidarity with these workers and condemned the government’s repressive policies against them. Now, the news of summoning the five IRALCO workers to court has sparked a new wave of protest from various labor organizations.
The Arak Machinery workers are not alone. Support for them must be expanded. An attack on these workers is an attack on all workers. We must broadly support the struggles and demands of IRALCO workers. The answer to the management and the government’s repression through fabricated cases against protesting workers is the ultimatum issued by the 4,000 workers of this company: the response will be broader protests with the participation of families and support from other labor centers for the IRALCO workers.