NCRI – In the past weeks and run up to the Iranian New Year (Persian calendar year beginning March 21) more than 15 factories and workshops have gone on strike. Among them, 1,000 workers of Minoo Food Packing Factory walked out on March 12 over what the labor activists called "substantial pay cut in the salaries and their end of the year bounces" by the management.
Workers announced that they will stay on strike until their demands are met by the factory's management.
The management spread a rumor that striking workers intended to set the factory on fire.
Some of other factories and workshops on strike are as follows: Tabas Mining Factory, Sarcheshmeh Cupper Factory in the southern city of Kerman, Jahad Agricultural workers in the southern city of Bushehr, Gavmishan Dam Factory workers and Beet Factory in the western city of Kamiyaran, Siyah-Roukh Factory workers in the western city of Divandareh, Energy Company in the southern city of Asaloyeh, Aras China Factory in the northwestern province of Azerbaijan, Pashmineh Baft Factory in the western city of Qazvin, Mehrpoya Textile Factory in the central city of Isfahan, Navard Company in the western city of Karaj, Iran's Telecommunications and Sandoq Nasoz in Tehran, Hamid China Factory, and municipal workers in Sadabad northern Tehran's suburb. Workers are particularly angry since they have not enough to provide for their families in the upcoming New Year.
Management in factories and workshops nationwide has lately been using a dirty tactic of initially giving into the angry workers' demands which they would never deliver. This has been the case in Surge Cane Factory in the southern city of Shoosh and Pashmineh Baft Factory in the western city of Qazvin.
The Iranian Resistance calls on all international human rights organizations and labor unions, in particular, the International Labor Organization (ILO) to condemn the suppressive measures adopted by the mullahs' regime and to support their demands.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
March 18, 2008
