NEWS - DAMN: IRANIAN WORKERS PROTES

[RangoonPost@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - DAMN: IRANIAN WORKERS PROTEST

In a message dated 10/11/99 5:20:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Thakin writes:

<< 
 Title: IRANIAN WORKERS PROTEST
 Date: 06-OCT-99
 Author: None given
 Source: Solidarity Campaign with Iranian Workers email : iwo35@xxxxxxxxxxx
 Reference: http://www.etehadchap.com/worker
 
 On September 1, workers in AlaEdin plant staged a sit in protesting ,they
 have not received any wages for over two months. One of the workers, in
 despair, attempted suicide during  the sit in and was 300 workers. Workers
 in  this privatised plant , have received no salaries for various periods
 over the last two years. In March 99, 250 subsequently badly injured. He had
 come to the sit in with his wife and children. AlaEdin plant is situated 8km
 from Karaj and employs workers from this plant protested that their salaries
 had not been paid in March and Feb, by staging a picket Iranian year 1377,
 workers struggles go beyond the factory
 
 PROTEST BY WORKERS IN POUSHAK FACTORY -SANANDAJ
 
 The worsening economic crisis and recession in production is spreading. In
 Kurdistan as in other regions of Iran , many workshops, factories have
 closed down , causing further unemployment. Poushak (clothing ) factory of
 Sanandaj used to employ 90 workers and was part of the Foundation for the
 dispossessed .  
 
 Production in this factory stopped 5 months ago and workers with more than
 20 years service , are left with no job, no redundancy money. A woman worker
 from this plant says: "It is more than 5 months that my family is facing
 anguish , every where I  go no one can give me any answers. Millions of
 Tomans of equipment and product are sitting idle and no one cares about the
 90 workers who have lost their jobs. "
 
 Workers from this factory have protested a number of times by going to the
 regional government offices, the foundation for the dispossessed and their
 local member of parliament, however nothing has been done to deal with the
 workers'   grievances. The last time the workers went to the local
 government offices, government officials insulted some of the women 
employees. 
 
 PROTEST BY "ENGINEERING CONSULTING COMPANY- SPECIALIST IN EARTH
 MECHANICAL/TECHNICAL LABORATORY"  
 
 Some of the employees of this company which is associated with the ministry
 of roads and transport , wrote a letter on the 26th July , protesting that
 the company had made them redundant in order to reduce the government
 budget, without notice or payment of any redundancy.
 
 PROTEST BY WORKERS IN ABHAR HOSPITAL: 
 
 Service workers in Bahar hospital have received no salary for more than 4
 months .Like many other hospitals the service sector of this hospital has
 been privatised , a few workers have received their wages , although it is
 not clear how they're selected. 
 
 One of the workers told the paper "Labour and the worker": with 12
 dependants, my salary from the hospital is our only income , in this 5th
 month of the year (Iranian year), we have only received 2 months full wages
 including child benefit.  He added I owe so much to local shopkeepers, they
 refuse to sell me any food until I settle my accounts. 
 
 Workers in the service sector of Abhar hospital claim that according to a
 deal between the hospital authorities and the private contractor, only the
 basic salary ( excluding any benefits) will be paid to the workers. In
 general salaries in Iran have two components the basic  salary and benefits
 such as child benefit, hard work supplement, food subsidy, overtime
 extras... In this way , at times of economic crisis, factory owners and the
 state can cut back half of the salary by stopping all benefits , bonus
 payments while dividing workers struggles and diverting them from pursuing a
 united struggle. 
 
 Workers in Abhar hospital had gone on strike at the end of May and on the
 22nd of June, in support of their demand for payment of salary.
 
 Strike by workers in Haft Tapeh Sugar plant: on the 6th of august 99,
 workers in Haft Tapeh factory in Ahvaz went on strike to support their 
demands
 
 PROTEST BY OIL PIPELINE WORKERS IN AHVAZ: 
 
 In Khuzestan province , many workers have not received any  wages . Only in
 the last few weeks they have received their wages for May 99. Workers have
 written a letter of protest demanding full payment of salaries of the last
 few months. 
 
 PROTEST BY PASH BAFI WORKERS :
 
 Keshmir wool plant in Kermanshah with 400 workers is in serious trouble as
 production has come to a halt and it is expected that the factory will close
 down any day. Workers in this plant have received no salary for months and
 although they have complained to the authorities , no one has addressed
 their grievances. In early September , workers in this factory issued
 protest leaflets blaming the management for the problems and threatening to
 go on strike unless their demands are met. 
 
 PROTEST BY WORKERS OF BICYCLE MANUFACTURERS IN GOUCHAN 
 
 Workers in this factory wrote a letter complaining about the general manager
 and sections managers . The workers complain that despite promises by
 management to give them permanent , official jobs following a period of
 training, workers remain on temporary contracts and therefore they are
 denied many benefits and rights. 
 
 They have no social benefits and they are deprived of work clothes and shoes
 and they have received no salaries in the last few months .
 
 PROTEST BY PAK DAM WORKERS 
 
 There are 100 workers in Pak Dam factory , which is a private company in
 Karaj-Tehran road. On the 31st August the workers in this plant issued a
 statement complaining strongly about low wages and working conditions   .
 The workers write: " the current situation is so bad that a group of workers
 have written a  joint letter demanding early retirement , while the workers
 don't really want to retire nor is there such possibility under Iranian
 labour legislation . In this plant every method is used to put pressure on
 workers , for example in one section where six workers were employed, the
 number of employees is reduced to 3 or 4, it has been announced that workers
 will have to work 7am to 5.00pm , they can't leave the plant between these
 hours many workers have to do night shifts . Is it that workers are slaves ,
 is that why you don't allow them to leave the factory even after hours ! is
 this a military barrack?"
 
 Zari Var shoe factory Kurdistan: this factory is facing closure.
 Unemployment is already a serious problem in Kurdistan were in the last few
 months 269 workers were dismissed form the roads offices of Mahabad, in
 Sanandaj 90workers have lost their jobs in Sanandaj Clothing factory and now
 58 workers some with more than 10 years experience face redundancy as the
 factory is likely to close down . The workers say this plant has 1milliard
 Toman capital and can produce 3000 pairs of boots, shoes and slippers for
 consumption in western Iran, nowadays produces a few pair for the ministry
 of education and it is clear that the management intends to close this 
factory .
 
 SEFALIN BRICK CONSTRUCTION -TEHRAN 
 
 Electricity has been cut off in this plant , situated in Khavaran highway
 near Tehran and the workers have received no salaries for over 3 months.
 Their insurance is out of date and despite repeated protest by workers ,
 authorities have not responded to their demands. 
 
 Clothing plant Khazar: 316 workers work in this factory , owned by the
 foundation for the dispossessed . Workers in this plant are still waiting
 for payment of their salaries for the months of May and June . Although
 every month health insurance payment is deducted from the workers' salary ,
 this has not yet been paid to the Social 
 
 Services and workers cannot obtain basic health care when they need medical
 or hospital treatment. 
 
 CLOSURE OF CHAHAR KAF PLANT
 
 Chahr kaf plant , producer of paper bags in Kerman ( southern Iran) has
 closed down and 44 of its workers have lost their job. Before  this 15
 workers were expelled and the management had threatened that if the local
 offices of the ministry of Labour forces the management to reinstate these
 workers they will close down the plant . 
 
 However the closure of the plant and the subsequent redundancy of all the
 workers happened while the ministry had issued no orders. 
 
 PROTEST BY NOUR AFSHAR HOSPITAL WORKERS:  
 
 Following the closure of Nour Afshar hospital, the majority of workers in
 this hospital have lost their jobs. In march , 30 workers,accepted the
 management's proposal to transfer to  medical unit Sadr and to accept
 loosing the cover of  the labour legislation, mainly in order to save their
 jobs, 140 workers refused to sign the new contract and were left with no
 jobs . However those workers and medical staff who had been transferred from
 the hospital to the en medical unit lost their jobs on the 22nd of May and
 all service work in this unit was given to a contract firm. Sacked workers
 have now written a letter complaining about their plight and demanding an
 investigation
 
 PROTEST BY RAH GHODS WORKERS :
 
 The road Works Ghods, closed on the 12th of August leaving 100 workers
 unemployed. The workers gathered outside the regional offices of Red work in
 Mahabad, complaining that they have received no unemployment insurance . It
 is worth noting that another 269 workers from the  same company had lost
 their jobs on the July 18, 1999
 
 GATHERING BY PARS TEXTILE:
 
 Workers sacked by Pars textile company in Semnan , gathered on the August 23
 in front of House of Labour ( Khaneh  Kargar) to protest against their 
sacking. 
 
 The textile plant with over 300 workers , closed down a year and a half ago
 Protest by Iran Wood industry workers: on the September 16, workers in wood
 industries Iran , announced that as they have received no satisfactory
 answer to their complaints regarding the state of the plant , as many
 workers have not been paid and face poverty and destitution and this has
 caused them mental and physical distress , they are staging a demonstration
 to raise e their voice against this injustice. 
 
 This company 's main investor , took his share of investment out of the
 country and over the last one and half years other shareholders in this
 company including, the National Bank, Bank of  Housing have refused to pay
 the workers.
 
 GATHERING BY LEATHER WORKS EMPLOYEES IN LORESTAN 
 
 On the September 19, some of the workers in Leather work in Lorestan
 gathered outside the plant demanding its reopening . A month ago, the
 management issued force holiday notices to workers and in practise  closed
 down the plant, workers say they don't want this enforced 'holiday'
 
 GATHERING BY KHAZAR KHEZ WORKERS
 
 Workers in Khazar Khez in Tonokabon demanded payment of their wages by
 protesting outside the local governor's offices. 300 workers in this plant
 claim they have received no salaries for 7 months
  >>