–On February 25, a group of Haft Tappeh sugarcane factory workers went on strike and gathered in front of the management building in protest of the lack of response to their demands and the low level of their salaries.
-On February 23rd, the workers of Esfandegheh kromite mine stopped working and gathered in protest of their unpaid 3 months salary.
– Teachers rally in city of Shiraz. On Feb. 22nd, teachers in Fars province gathered in front of ministry of education in Shiraz city and insisted on their demands with the slogan “The imprisoned teachers must be freed”. In their call to gather on this day, these teachers announced their urgent demands, the main points of which are: the full implementation of the ranking, the implementation of the equalization plan for pensioners, the matching of the annual salary increase with the growth of the annual inflation rate reported by the central bank, stop summons to working colleagues to the Board of Administrative Offenses, stopping the summoning of union activists and banning the prosecution of their cases and canceling the issued orders, free education, ending the garrisoning of schools, and stop selling public properties including education institutes.
On Feb. 21st, a large group of teachers protested against the deterioration of their living conditions and unanswered demands, shouting “Where is justice? Where is justice?”.
On Feb 21st, a group of Petrochemical workers in city of “Masjed Suleiman” protested against 6 months of unpaid salaries and insurance premiums, after which the security forces closed the gates of the Petrochemical factories to the workers. –
– On Feb 21st, the contract workers of Tabriz landscaping companies gathered in front of the governor’s office because of the deterioration of their living conditions and their unpaid benefits.
– This morning, 21st of February, a number of municipal workers from Khuzestan city gathered in front of the Khuzestan governorate for the umpteenth time demanding improvement to their livelihood and working conditions.
– On 21st of February, bakers gathered in city of Neishabur protesting their livelihood problems and high prices. On this day, traders and merchants of Baneh city in Kurdistan also gathered in protest against the disastrous economic situation. And now there are whispers of general strike and protest amongst the merchants and the market.
– On the 21st of February, a group of disabled people gathered in Mashhad to protest against their appaling living conditions, the small budget allocated to disabled people in the austerity budget of 1402 and the overdue rehabilitation budgets. Before that, disabled people held several rallies in Tehran, and in their last rally, as a sign of protest, they covered the entrance to the department of “Planning and Budget” with mud.
– On the 21st of February, retirees of universities of medical sciences and healthcare services gathered in front of the country’s office of pension fund in Tehran. Labor unrest and protests in various sectors of retirees are expanding. The protests are basically against theft and corruption and the pressures of poverty and inflation.
– On the 20th of February, telecom retirees gathered in eleven cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Sanandaj, Ahvaz, Yasuj, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Arak, Kerman, Hamadan and Ilam. – Unpaid allowances and increase in supplementary insurance premiums are among their objections.
– A new round of pensioners’ protests has begun. Social Security retirees also rallied this week. Retired people have called for a nationwide protest for February 28th in protest against poverty and high prices. These gatherings will be held in Tehran in front of the Islamic Parliament and in the cities in front of the governor’s office. The retirees have announced in their call to this rally that they will continue their protest until the day when there is no trace of oppression, corruption and inequality. In their protest gatherings, retirees have repeatedly emphasized on raising salaries in proportion to the cost of living basket rate, free medical treatment and education for all, and have demanded an end to embezzlement and theft of their benefits.
– On the 20th of February, the workers of the National Lead and Zinc Company in Zanjan stopped working and gathered in protest of their low wages and job benefits in relation to the difficulty of their work and long working hours.
– On the 20th of February, the workers of Sarb and Roy Company of Yazd went on strike and gathered in protest of further delay in payment of their 6-month unpaid wages.
– On the 20th of February, workers and engineers of Kanrod Sazeh Petrochemical Company went on strike and gathered in Chabahar. They are protesting further delay in 4 month back payment of their wages and the low level of salaries and the deterioration of their living conditions.
– On the 20th of February, project workers working in Adish Kangan Petrochemical located in Tembak site went on strike in protest of delayed payment of wages and broken promises and gathered in the workshop area.
– On the 20th of February, a number of Arya Ardestan steel factory workers went on strike for several days to protest the further delay in paying their 4 months of unpaid wages, and gathered in front of the factory. According to the workers, two weeks ago, the governor and members of the city’s supply council came to the factory and promised to pay the workers, but there has been no follow up.
– On Sunday 19th of February, social security retirees gathered and marched and protested in cities such as Shush, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Rasht and Shushtar to pursue their demands. In Ahvaz, a significant number of retirees gathered and marched and turned the streets of the city into a stage of their protest by clapping and singing the song “We will not live under oppression”. Implementation of equalization and increase of salaries above the poverty line of 25 million, free medical care and education for all, repayment of the government’s debt to the pension fund and an end to theft and embezzlement, an end to the securitization of struggles and the right to organize, assemble and protest, are among the announced demands of retirees in their struggles.
In today’s protests, retirees chanted: “Our wages are in Rials, our expenses are in dollars”, “Livelihood, dignity is our inalienable right”, “How long Humiliation? either death or life with dignity”, “Pensioners are awake and disgusted with discrimination”, “Until we get our rights, it’s the same every day”, “Raisie the Liar! What is the result of your promises?!”. The next call for social security retirees for a nationwide rally is for ten o’clock in the morning on the 28th of February. These gatherings will be held in Tehran in front of the Islamic Council and the Program and Budget Organization, in the centers of the provinces in front of the premier’s office, and in other cities in front of the governor’s office. The social security pensioners in Shush have also declared every Sunday as their day of protest and gathering. Today, also, a group of teachers from Tabriz gathered in the area of the clock museum in protest of their poor living conditions and 25 years of wandering and not receiving a response to their demands.
On the 19th of February, security workers of the Ahvaz city train project, who work under the Kisson company, gathered in front of office of the governor of the city to protest against the non-payment of 18 months of salary and 2 years of holiday and job insecurity. According to the workers, their last receipt was in January after several days of protest, when 5 million Tomans (about $1,181us) were paid to the accounts of about 113 workers in two stages, and there is no news of the payment of the rest of their demands. This project has been stopped since the last months of 2017, and until now, 500 of its workers have gradually been laid off. Currently there are about 113 security workers and two to three facility workers to guard and protect the workshop facilities and its remaining machines.
On the 19th of February, a large number of Yasouj municipality workers gathered in front of the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad governorates to protest their eight months of unpaid wages. According to the workers, with the daily increase in the inflation rate, there is a huge difference in value between the money that should have been given to them eight months ago and today. They demand immediate payment of their late wages. About 400 workers are working in various companies under the supervision of Yasouj Municipality.
On the 16th of February, Ashura chrome mine workers, Abdasht Soghan district, Orzoie city. In protest of low wages, non-implementation of job classification plan and harsh working conditions, they stopped working and gathered in this mining unit in Kerman province.
On the 15th of February, social security retirees gathered in front of the Islamic Parliament in Tehran. Paying the government’s debt to the equalization fund and increasing salaries above the poverty line of 25 million, free medical treatment and education, and ending embezzlement and theft of their benefits are mentioned in their protests.
– On the 15th of February, the workers of Iran’s Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex located in Bandar Abbas went on strike and gathered in protest against the non-receipt of outstanding claims and poor living conditions.
– On the 15th of February, workers of cement factory gathered in Khash city due to non-payment of their salaries for several months. These workers demand immediate payment of arrears, officialization of their employment and other rights and benefits.
– On the 14th of February, contract workers of Tabriz city’s landscaping gathered in front of the central municipality building to protest against the assignment of work to a private company under the municipality’s citizenship and the worsening of their salary and employment situation. Workers know from experience that behind these privatizations are thefts and embezzlements, and a direct result is the deterioration of their job status and rights.
– On the 14th of February, there is a gathering of the pensioners of the national and Lashgari funds of Qazvin to protest against the deterioration of their living conditions in front of the national pension fund of this province. The retirees chanted: “Equality is our right, retirees stand up”.
On the 13th of February, telecommunications retirees gathered in front of the regional telecommunications office in different cities in continuation of the previous protests due to their poor livelihood and its worsening every day. These gatherings were held in cities such as Tehran, Kermanshah, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Mashhad, Bojnord, Rasht, Neishabor, Kerman, and Ilam. The retirees have announced that they will continue their protest rallies until the regulations are fully implemented and their demands are met.
– On the 13th of February, MashizBardsir steel workers gathered in front of the Kerman Governorate to protest their job and livelihood uncertainty. Mashizbardsir steel was closed after 28 days of operation.
– On Monday, 13th of February, a group of temporary contract workers working at the National Iranian Oil Company in Tehran gathered in front of the company’s office in protest of low annual benefit amounting to one million and 800 thousand tomans. They are demanding a benefit payment according to the approved law. Temporary contract workers working in oil are subject to the labor law, but according to the approval of the Employment Affairs Organization, their holiday is paid one million eight hundred thousand tomans (about $426us).
– On Monday, 13th of February, a group of telecom retirees from Kermanshah, Ahvaz, and Isfahan gathered in front of the Regional Telecommunication General Administration in continuation of the previous protests due to their poor livelihood condition which is worsening every day and the lack of response to their demands. These pensioners have announced that they will continue their protest gatherings until the regulations are fully implemented and their demands are met.
– On Monday, 13th of February, the workers of Derakhshan copper mine located in Takht Gonbad Sirjan in Kerman province entered their fourth day of strike. The workers are protesting the non-payment of wages, the low level of salary and their insurance problems. On this day, the workers gathered in the mine area and raised their voice in protest with the slogan of “worker, shout for your rights”.
– On the 12th February, social security retirees gathered in front of the social security building in cities such as Ahvaz, Shush, Shushtar and Kerman to voice their demands. The pensioners of Kerman chanted: “We will not sit down until we get our rights.” The pensioners are protesting the worsening of their living conditions while their demands are remained unanswered.
Massive labor protests are a suitable platform for nationwide strikes. Nationwide strikes are an important link in strengthening street protests and an important step in advancing the revolution.