Iranian workers: “We are hungry; who will listen?”

Iran Press News: The regime-run news agency ILNA wrote: “On September 6th textile workers from the velvet and silk factory of Kashan gathered; the workers said that the reason for their protest gathering is that the factory has no raw materials and therefore, there’s no work.

One of the workers said: “We’ve been protesting for a few days and we’ve pleaded with the authorities to help but they refuse to help. No one understands the problems that all of us workers face; we tell them that we haven’t been paid for months, they reply, wait a few more months…when the raw materials arrive and work begins again we’ll pay your wages…we tell them we’re hungry, they tell us what do you want do?!”

Another worker says: “They promised to give us loans so that the factory production does not fall behind; luckily, in our case, unlike many other industries and factories, our employers aren’t bad guys; there are just no raw materials. But it looks like we need to block all the roads till the [government] officials realize that there are hungry people living next door. These officials ought to act before workers come to Tehran to camp out in front of governmental offices…not that if we even came to Tehran, that would solve anything either!”

In early November, in Baharestan square, in front of the Islamic Parliament (Majles), people have gathered and are chanting.

Again, our reporter interviewed workers who had gathered there; one of the protesting workers said: “With reforms on the labor laws they want to destroy workers. We won’t let them reform this law. What does reforming mean anyhow? It boils down to the fact that these reforms are being made so that the termination of workers is facilitated for the employers…whatever the employer says, basically, goes.” As our reporter interviewed the chanting workers, the regime’s guards arrived and forcibly disbursed the workers.

The next day our reporter found out that a member of the Parliament, a representative of the people themselves, had lodged a complaint about the protesting workers standing outside and had demanded that the regime’s disciplinary guards be sent for the workers to be “dealt with”. This unnamed representative is among those spearheading the reform of the labor laws and has declared that the laws will be reformed, no matter what; according to him workers and industry will benefit.

It is unclear whether in fact the reforms are or are not to the benefit of the workers; a representative from the workers has said however: “If the workers [who are living in these conditions] do not protest, what should they do? The reformed labor laws will only make the labor guide more complex.”

It seems that workers have no refuge in this society and no one to go to who would listen; so like the workers from the velvet and silk factory who threaten to come to Tehran to protest, depleted workers from all across Iran can only make threats.