Reported by PMOI/ MEK
Iran, Dec. 15, 2018 – On Saturday, the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group returned to the streets of Ahvaz to resume the strikes and protests they began 36 days ago. The demonstrators marched in front of government buildings and were calling on other Ahvaz citizens to support them. Women and children were also present among the protesters.
The steelworkers of Ahvaz are demanding the payments of long-overdue salaries, job security and the return of the company under government control. Under the control of private owners with ties to Iranian regime officials, the work conditions of the thousands of workers employed by INSIG, which is one of Iran’s largest manufacturers and exporters of steel products, has deteriorated immensely.
Like many other labor demonstrators across Iran, the steelworkers of Ahvaz hold the Iranian regime responsible for their current hardships. In their slogans, the steelworkers regularly target local and central government officials, comparing them to criminal gangs and thieves, and criticizing them for taking advantage of their religious authority to defraud the underprivileged classes of the society and to plunder the wealth of country.
According to local reports, there was a heavy presence of security forces across the city of Ahvaz on Saturday. The Iranian regime had dispatched special forces along with fire trucks and dozens of buses to cause fear and intimidate the protesters.
But the steelworkers, whose demands have gone unanswered for several months, are unfazed by the regime’s attempt to quell their protests and continue to return to the streets day after day to reclaim their most basic rights. “If anyone tries to trample our rights, we will defeat them with our unity,” one of the protesters was saying. To the security forces, this worker said, “We are simple workers. We might be a drop of rain, but together, we become a sea. If anyone thinks we are simple people and we can easily be neglected, they are making a big mistake. We will stand together until we destroy the mafia.” Mafia is a reference to the steel company’s authorities and their allies in the government, which have earned a notorious reputation for their corrupt policies.
Their persistence on their demands have earned them the support of different communities across Iran, including students, teachers, truck drivers, merchants, and other workers.
