In response to the Iranian government’s mismanagement and economic failures, Iranian employees and workers continue their protests across the country. They launched at least eight strikes in different cities, demanding employers pay their arrears and delayed paychecks. This is while Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) manage multi-billion-dollar trades.
Municipal Workers Enter Day 5 of Strike in Hamidieh
For five days, around 70 sweepers and contract workers have stopped working in Hamidieh, protesting the municipality for non-paying their paychecks. On the other hand, the department’s non-responding to the workers’ demands pushed them to continue their protest in front of the city’s court.
However, the City Council Chief Ahmad Albo-Abid threatened that he would fire protesters if they do not stop their strike. Following the Albo-Abid’s threats, the state security forces detained a worker.
According to the City Council Chief, Hamidieh’s green space workers did not receive their salaries for five months. Also, workers of urban services have seven-month arrears. This is while the city lacks basic welfare, civil, and sports facilities.
In Naghadeh, Beetroot Farmers Hold A Rally in Front of Solduz Sugarcane Factory
Beetroot farmers in Naghadeh city, Kurdistan province, gathered in front of Solduz Sugarcane Factory, demanding their money. Up until now, the factory has not paid the farmers their owed amount in return for their product.
“Based on an agreement between farmers and the factory’s stockholder, the factory must settle 80 percent of the amount at the unloading time. However, after several days, it has paid nothing,” said a farmer.
Bakers’ Protests in Yazd Province
In the desert province of Yazd, southeast of the capital Tehran, bakers launched a rally, protesting authorities for fixed salaries. “For four years, our salaries are fixed,” bakers said. This is while the price of essential goods, including bread, have exceeded in past months.
“The bread price increased. Nonetheless, surprisingly, its quality and weight simultaneously decreased. In recent weeks, the price of different types of bread has been raised based on the enactment bill of bread prices,” the state-run TV reported on October 9. However, the administration spokesperson Ali Rabiei denied any increase or shortage of flour to contain public outrage.
On the other hand, due to the government’s mismanagement, the poverty line has surpassed 100 million rials [$333.33], and many essential items have been scarce. Furthermore, inflation and the national currency’s devaluation have severely affected working-class families.
Street-vendors Hold Rally in Sanandaj City
In Sanandaj city, Kurdistan province, street-vendors in Ferdowsi avenue held a rally, protesting the municipality’s recent instruction. Since October 12, municipality agents have banned poor vendors from selling their stuff in this street based on the mentioned order.
In this context, Sanandaj municipality deprived around 1,000 breadwinners of their routine business. “Over 1,000 families make ends meet through street-selling,” protesters said.
This is while the country, particularly Kurdish districts, faces an unemployed crisis, pushing thousands of graduates to carry out heavy cargos to earn meager money. Also, the state security forces frequently target these poor porters, called Kolbars, and kill hundreds of them every year.
In Bushehr, Workers of Real Estate Section Protest
Workers of Pardis-e Jam industrial town in Bushehr province held a rally, protesting the discrimination. These workers who work in the real estate section of the non-industrial Pazargad company suffer from unfair rules for paying wages.
Notably, not only in Pazargad company but also in many sections and working fields, workers and employees suffer from such discrimination. In this respect, many workers have announced their complaints across the country. However, government-linked employers always could quell workers’ protests, relying on their strong ties with influential figures.
Fired Employees of Ahvaz Municipality Rally
On October 18, a number of fired employees of the “Green Belt” project run by Ahvaz municipality’s District 2 held a rally in front of the Ahvaz Central Municipality. They demanded the department to return them to work.
Over 22 contract employees of district two were fired due to their contract’s expiration with the Green Belt project’s supervisors. The company authorized this project fired these persons. In such circumstances, these poor workers do not have any source of income to make ends meet.
Notably, many workers and employees have not received their money for several months. However, they prefer to preserve their career and not join the unemployed population. According to official statistics, at least 600,000 employees and workers have lost their jobs recently. Experts forecast the number would be raised to 2-6 million breadwinners in the upcoming months.
Contract Oil Employees Continue Protests
This year, the Iranian people witnessed several protests and strikes. However, the strike by oil employees and workers was the most significant protest in the Islamic Republic’s history. In this context, the strike severely terrified authorities regarding its comprehensive impact on other industries.
Officials tried to end the strike that had engulfed tens of cities via promises. Workers initially rejected the government’s vows, describing them as baseless. They also resisted against pressures applied by the propaganda and oppressive apparatuses.
Employees and workers finally gave the government a chance to compensate for failures. However, officials did nothing on the ground, and workers’ dilemmas were not resolved. In this respect, contract employees and workers of the oil industry held another rally, protesting officials’ false promises and non-implementation of the plan for “classifying jobs.”
Municipal Personnel Protest in Qorveh, Kurdistan Province
On October 18, employees of Serish-Abad Municipality in Qorveh city held a rally for the seventh time. In August, these workers stopped working for a few days, protesting employers not paying their salaries. Eventually, they agreed to return to work after receiving a part of their arrears.
Officials vowed to pay the rest non-paid salaries. However, these poor workers have gained nothing after two and a half months. Notably, officials’ negligence and inattention to their hardship and problems have added insult to the workers’ injuries. “We do not trust in officials’ promises anymore and do not end our strike until the department pays our salaries,” workers announced.
