Reported by PMOI/MEK
Iran, Jan. 29, 2019 – On Monday, Iranian workers in different cities held demonstrations and strikes in protest to deteriorating work conditions, unpaid wages and government corruption. Labor protests have become a recurring theme in the daily lives of Iranians and the Iranian regime is finding it harder and harder to contain the outrage of the underprivileged segments of Iranian population.
Boroujerd: Demonstrations by municipality workers
Municipal workers in Boroujerd, Lorestan province, held demonstrations in front of the mayor’s office in spite of the cold weather and rain. The workers are protesting against unpaid wages that have been overdue for more than nine months.
The workers have been demanding their overdue salaries for months. In December, hundreds of Boroujerd municipal workers held protests for several days, demanding that the government pay their wages. Local regime authorities have continuously promised to fulfill the demands of the workers, but so far, nothing has materialized.
Last month, in an interview with a state-run news outlet, one of the workers said, “I haven’t received my salary for nine months. I’m ashamed to look into the eyes of my spouse and children. I’ve borrowed so much money from my relatives that I’m ashamed of myself. We don’t even have the minimum capabilities to purchase our most basic needs. We’re working day in, day out, but we’re not being paid and no one responds to our demands.
“I have three children who go to school, but I can’t pay for their needs. My younger child is sick. I can’t pay for his treatment. If one of the members of the city council don’t receive their pay, they will not remain silent. But they don’t care about our situation.”
Tehran: Protests by customers of Bahman Khodro
Customers of Bahman Khodro gathered in front of the offices of the Industry Ministry’s offices in Tehran and protested to not having received vehicles they had purchased months earlier. Bahman is one of several vehicle manufacturing companies that have taken payments from customers but have failed to deliver their products. The customers of the company have been protesting for several months.
Bahman Group, the parent company of Bahman Khodro, is jointly owned by investment companies with strong ties to Iranian regime officials and institutions. Mehr-e Eqtesad Financial Group, the major shareholder of Bahman Group, is a subsidiary of Mehr Eqtesad Bank, which was recently sanctioned by the U.S. government for helping the IRGC Quds Force in funding and sponsoring terrorist activities.
Ghadir Investment Company, another shareholder in Bahman, is strongly tied to Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Ghadir was also sanctioned by the U.S. because of its role in financing the Iranian regime’s repression and terrorism.
“As the Iranian people suffer from fiscal mismanagement and a plummeting rial, the Iranian regime abuses the country’s banking system to enrich its elite and finance repressive state institutions,” U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Sigal Mandelker said when the sanctions were declared in November.
Protests by water and sewage workers in Dashtestan
Dashtestan: Protests by water and sewage contract workers
In Dashtestan, workers of the local water and sewage company held demonstrations in front of the offices of the company in protest to unpaid wages.
Mashhad: Bus drivers continue protests
In Mashhad, the drivers of a local private bus transportation company held demonstrations in front of the city council and demanded the payment of their unpaid wages. The drivers went on strike earlier this month in protest to unpaid salaries.
Protests by bus drivers in Mashhad
