On 25th November 2018, the 21st day of their strike, the sugar cane workers of Haft Tapeh in Khuzestan province, Iran, first held an assembly in front of the governor’s office in Shush city and then continued the protest towards the city centre with chants of “Free imprisoned workers” and “Steel, Haft Tapeh, Happy Unity”. The workers have said that Esmaeil Bakhshi’s release is the precondition for any talks and negotiations.
Some members of the public joined the protest and some showed solidarity with the striking workers by bringing them food and drinks.
The authorities have tried to break up the strike and prevent members of the public and steel workers from joining the sugar cane workers.
The authorities and directors of the corporation have threatened supervisors of different sections of the corporation with expulsion if they refuse to come back to work. The workers, however, have stood firm on their demands which includes the release of their leader and representative, Esmaeil Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholyan, a student and activist.
The workers of Haft Tapeh have received unprecedented support from different sections of society.
Adding to a long list of supporters, on 24 November 2018, a group of workers of the Industrial Estate of Jaban and Khoramdasht and contractor workers of the Ministry of Oil Industry sent their message of solidarity with Haft Tapeh workers. Miners of Taravartan in Abbas Abad in Isfahan province wrote on the walls in their neighbourhood: “Free Esmaeil Bakhshi”. Farangis Mazlum, mother of Soheil Arabi, a political prisoner, shared a video in which she holds a placard that reads “We are all from Haft Tapeh” and declared her and her son’s support for the workers of Haft Tapeh.
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