“Abolish Private Ownership” – striking workers in Iran fight to implement their Workers’ Council decision

On 12^th November 2018, workers of the sugar cane factory Haft Tapeh in Khuzestan province in Iran entered their 8^th day of strike for the demands they had agreed on in their Workers’ Council:

• Immediate payment of unpaid wages
• Job security
• Safety in the workplace
• Permanent contracts
• Immediate restart of the production lines
• Abolishment of private ownership of the factory (and in case of government takeover of the factory it must work under supervision of the Workers’ Council)

The governor of Khuzestan province, Mr Gholamreza Shariati, confirmed that the protests by the workers are caused by unpaid wages and the shambolic management of the corporation but denied any responsibility with regard to ownership of the corporation. His silence on embezzlement and theft by the directors – which had been exposed by the Workers’ Council – is seen as an attempt to deemphasise and ignore the financial corruption.

At the assembly of the striking workers, the elected workers’ representatives reported the progress of the Workers’ Council and their meetings with the authorities. The final words of the Workers’ Council to the authorities were: “the workers have the final say” and “the responsibility of the representatives is to report to the workers.”

#WPIranNews #FightForLife #SugarCaneWorkers #WorkersCouncil #AbolishmentOfPrivateOwnership