21st day of refinery workers’ strike in Iran

Reporting by PMOI/MEK

Iran, August 22, 2020—On Friday, August 21, workers of Iran’s oil and gas refineries, petrochemicals and power plants, continued their strike for the 21st consecutive day. This strike has expanded to 55 focal points in 24 cities across 12 provinces throughout Iran.

The workers and their representatives emphasized on continuing their strike until all their demands are met.

Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex [File Photo]

On Thursday, August 20, workers of the Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex protested working conditions and delayed paychecks.

Officials of the Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex companies have not paid their workers for several months.

Workers of the Gostaresh Ahan Rah company are on strike [File Photo]

Workers of the "Gostaresh Ahan Rah" railway in Gilan province, northern Iran, went on strike on Thursday, protesting their limbo status and delayed paychecks.

The protesting workers gathering at the work site holding placards, saying that the workers of this company are demanding a change in the contract workers’ status, as well as pensions that have been delayed for the past five to six months.

"The workers have suffered from many problems in their life due to delayed paychecks. As a result, they intend to launch an even larger strike if authorities do not pay attention to their demands," one of the workers said.

HEPCO company workers on strike [File Photo]

Workers of the HEPCO company in Arak, central Iran, protested in the factory yard on Thursday, continuing their protests for the third consecutive week.

During the rally, the regime’s governor of Markazi province tried to put an end to the HEPCO workers’ protests through hollow promises. Ignoring the governor’s empty promises, the workers insisted that they would not stop protesting until all their demands are met.

The governor of the regime has claimed that 20 billion tomans (about $87,000) have been deposited in the HEPCO account and the salaries of the company's employees are being paid for two months. But workers say no money has been transferred to their accounts so far.

Law graduates protesting outside the regime’s Majlis (parliament) in Tehran, Iran—August 21, 2020

On Thursday, a group of law graduates gathered in front of the mullahs’ Majlis (parliament) in the Iranian capital Tehran to have their demands addressed.

The protesters chanted slogans and held several placards demanding "an end to the monopoly of advocacy and recruiting on the basis of proven qualification.”

Protesting high unemployment among youths and a monopoly on the process applied to appointing new lawyers, they called on judicial authorities to hold entrance exams without any restrictions and based on proven qualification.

On Thursday, a group of Izeh emergency physicians in Khuzestan province, southwest Iran, protested poor living conditions.

“Since our salaries have not been paid in the last two months, we are not going to continue working with the Izeh health network, starting from next month,” the protesters emphasized.

They also say that their financial and legal situation has deteriorated since the beginning of this Iranian calendar year (starting on March 20 this year), and that an amount will be deducted from each paycheck.

Emergency physicians added that these issues will deprive all medical staff of their morale and motivation, and they will stop working if this process continues.