Iran: Third Day of Strike by Steel Workers in Ahvaz and Goldsmiths in Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Yazd, Tabriz, Arak, and Qom
iran ahvaz steel workers protest 25122023
Written by
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
NCRI logoProtest rally by Telecommunication retirees in 15 provinces
On Monday, December 25, 2023, Telecommunication retirees in 15 provinces, including Shiraz, Sanandaj, Shahrekord, Khorramabad, Ardabil, Isfahan, Marivan, Tabriz, Arak, Ahvaz, Hamedan, Bijar, Rasht, Sari, and Zanjan, held a protest rally outside the offices of the state-run Telecommunication Company to protest the government’s failure to address their demands.
On the same day, the strike by workers at the Ahvaz National Steel Company continued for the third day. A protest march took place from the company’s premises to Baghai Square. Workers chanted slogans such as “Threats and imprisonment no longer work,” “Death to the oppressor, long live the worker,” and “We will never be humiliated.” Workers are demanding that the ban on entry to the company for suspended workers be lifted and that previously fired workers be reinstated. The entry cards of 38 workers have been blocked by the management and security of the company to suppress workers’ protests.
Today, nurses and retirees also held protest rallies in Tehran, Ahvaz, Qazvin, and Ilam. Retirees from the Ministry of Oil, the Social Security Organization, and retired educators gathered in front of the Plan and Budget Organization in Tehran, while retirees in Ahvaz, Qazvin, and Ilam held rallies in front of the Management and Planning Organization. They chanted slogans such as “The government is betraying us, the parliament is supporting it,” “Enough of oppression and tyranny, our tables are empty,” “Today is a day of mourning, the wages of retirees have been plundered by the mullahs,” “You plundered the retirees’ fund, you made us miserable,” “The imprisoned teacher must be released,” “The imprisoned worker must be released,” and “We will not give up until we get our rights,” “Retiree, shout, shout for your rights.”
More footage from today's protest rally by workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group in Ahvaz.#Iran #IranProtestspic.twitter.com/TAGl3kk0oL
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 25, 2023
On Monday, December 25, 2023, most goldsmiths in Tehran and goldsmiths in Hamadan went on strike in protest of the regime’s new tax laws, which are intended to raise taxes and plunder their property. Goldsmiths in Mashhad, Isfahan, Yazd, Tabriz, Arak, Qom, and others, who had already begun their strikes in previous days, are still on strike.
The regime-run website IRNA wrote on August 27, 2023: “In the past two years, an inflation of at least 250% has been imposed on the people’s tables, and workers’ wages are not even one-third of the poverty line.” This is while astronomical embezzlement and systematic corruption by the regime have destroyed Iran’s economy. In just one case in recent weeks, in a conflict between regime factions, astronomical embezzlement of $3.37 billion was revealed at a regime-owned industrial company called Debsh Tea Plantation. The regime-run website Jamaran wrote: “This embezzlement is a significant share of Iran’s total foreign exchange earnings… It is clear that numerous administrative and financial institutions are involved in this corruption…”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
December 25, 2023