Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, October 2, 2019—Despite the lack of coverage by mainstream media on protests by people from all walks of life in Iran, various reports indicate numerous cities are witnessing rallies by various groups demanding their stolen money and rights from the mullahs’ regime.
Clients of the Caspian credit firm, linked to the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), rallied in Mashhad, northeast Iran, on Tuesday, demanding their stolen money returned from this state entity. This gathering was held despite measures by state police intending to prevent the rally and attempts to disperse the crowd.
On Tuesday morning, wholesale store owners in Tehran’s Aladdin shopping complex closed their shops and went on strike. Regime officials are threatening the working permits of those store owners who continue their protests and remain on strike.
Furthermore, these protesting store owners are being threatened with fines and having their store electricity cut off. However, the striking store owners are continuing their protests and refusing to open shop.
Wholesale store owners holding a protest rally in the Aladdin shopping complex – Tehran, Iran – October 1, 2019
In the city of Shush, employees of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company continued their strike for the ninth consecutive day on Tuesday, despite ongoing security threats made by regime authorities. This protest and strike, held outside the company manager’s office, is in support and solidarity with 20 of their colleagues who have been recently expelled from work.
“… Hail to all of you who have shown up here… On Monday, they forced me to write a commitment saying I will no longer participate in these protests. However, in my reports I specifically wrote I will continue supporting the workers even if the price is my head, as long as my tongue speaks and as long as I breathe,” one worker said.
In other reports, municipality workers in the town of Sisakht in Kohgiluyeh & Boyer Ahmed Province, southern Iran, continued their strike for the 11th consecutive day on Tuesday despite regime officials issuing threats to arrests these protesters. These hardworking municipality employees have not received their wages for the past nine months and regime officials are only providing hollow promises and lies.
A video widely distributed across social media shows an old lady criticizing the regime for wasting the country's resources on its warmongering campaigns. "I am Yemen! I am Syria! It's not my business that they're hungry! My child is hungry! Our people are hungry!" the woman says, referring the regime's squandering the country's riches on foreign wars. "Khamenei, your time has expired. Go! We're hungry!"
Old mother in Shiraz bravely criticizes the regime
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Contrary to democratic countries, Iranian workers are systematically denied their basic rights. What are the differences between workers in Iran and other countries?
In 2019, the Iranian regime excluded contract workers from Labor Law.
Ali Khodaie, a member of regime's High Labor Council (August 2019): “Only 4% of Iranian workers enjoy job security."
In Croatia, which has the worst conditions in Europe, job insecurity stands 8.4%.
Over 90% of Iranian workers lack job security. This means 12.6 million Iranian workers have no job security.
Factoring in their families, at least 40 million Iranians don't have a guaranteed livelihood. Over 3.5 million workers have not been registered anywhere and don't have any rights.
According to Iran's 2019 budget, the base monthly salary for workers is about $125. Meanwhile, the officially declared poverty line in Iran is $580.
Therefore, the monthly salary of Iranian workers is just enough to live for 6 days!
Additionally, there is a long list of factories and companies where workers have not received salaries for months. At the same time, labor protests are met with the Iranian regime's iron fist.
The regime suppresses all major labor protests, or at best, turns a blind eye on workers' demands and rights. The past 40 years have proven that the mullahs’ regime has no respect for the rights of Iranian workers. But Iran’s workers have proven they have the will to continue to fight for their rights.
