Haft Tapeh Workers‏ Fight Iranian Miliary & Police

by Bazooka Joe Mon May 19, 2008 09:33

There is no record of this 'strike' anywhere other than in the Communist Party of Iran propaganda rags and similar who have mirrored it.

This is a completely unsubstantiated story.

by pat c Mon May 19, 2008 18:35

This story is now carried on: Sugar Industry News
The latest news on the sugar industry... Covering global trade issues, mergers and acquisitions, crop reports and more.

Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane workers go on all-out strike

According to reports received from Shush city around 5000 workers are now on strike at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Development Commercial Company.
http://www.sugartech.co.za/news/index.php

by pat c Mon May 19, 2008 19:35

Thousands of Haft Tapeh sugar cane workers marched through Shush on 17 May 17. The 3,000 marchers, were joined along the way by local people, swelling their ranks to 5,000,.

After first gathering outside the Governor’s Office at 8.00 a.m., they then marched with their families and supporters, towards the city centre. The slogans included: “Livelihood and dignity is our certain right”, “Legal cases must be closed”, “Head of security must be fired”, and “Haft-Tapeh workers are hungry”. Around 11.30 a.m. the security forces attacked the marchers with tear gas. Two workers are reported to have been taken to hospital injured, one of whom has been kept in the hospital.

The sugar cane workers, are demanding the dropping of the threatened legal actions against worker activists, which are based on fabricated charges, resignation of the director and management of the company, and the firing of the head of the factory security who has played a particularly vicious role in persecuting workers. Five workers have been summoned to appear before court on20th May. This is the third strike by sugar cane workers in the past year.

A march by around 2,000 workers on Thursday was also attacked by the security forces, resulting in five injuries. Some family members of the workers described the brutality of the police in interviews to international radio stations.

Source: LabourStart

by pat c Tue May 20, 2008 12:30

Thousands of Haft Tapeh sugar cane workers marched again on Sunday and Monday through the town of Shush ahead of the sham trial of five of their colleagues on Tuesday 20 May, which the workers are fighting to stop. As in the last few days, the people of the town also joined the march today. At one point the workers blocked the main highway in the area.

On mondays march, the workers shouted slogans for the payment of unpaid wages and the scrapping of the legal actions against their colleagues. Another slogan reverberating through the streets today was for the release of jailed workers: “Jailed workers must be freed!”
A large mobilisation is also expected today at the court.

Workers from around Iran have expressed their support for the strike. The Free Union of Iranian Workers, workers of Ahvaz Pipe Manufacturing Company and workers from Iran Khodro Car Manufacturing Company issued statements on Monday to express their solidarity with the workers and to condemn the impending action against the five activists.

Last week several workers’ organisations issued a Joint Statement to condemn the persecution of the sugar cane workers, as well as calling for the immediate and unconditional release of currently jailed workers Javanmir Moradi, Taha Azadi, Sheis Amani and Mansoor Ossanlou.

A video clip of Mondays march is embedded here.

Source: LabourStart.

by pat c Tue Jun 03, 2008 20:02

Here is a statement from the Haft Tapeh workers.

Let us prepare for general anti-capitalist united action

Statement: To all domestic and international labour and human rights organisations

We have been on an all-out strike for 20 days. In this third stage of our strike, the police and security forces have attacked the workers' gatherings and have arrested them many times. Now the factory is shutdown and the workers have not been paid for over three months. Instead they have been beaten and assaulted many times.

During the past eight months we have made our demands known to the authorities and officials. The authorities, from the provincial to the national level, are aware of our demands and the problems facing this [sugar] industrial complex. It has now been proven to us that no one is going to respond to us.

We have said many times that we have the ability to run the factory and to continue production. But they prevent us from forming our trade union or labour organisation. Now our families are hungry and around 4000 workers and personnel of the factory have been left in suspense and with no certainty.

Under these conditions we expect all domestic and international labour and human rights organisations to the support and follow up our demands.

Committee for re-launching the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company's trade union

More information on the strike at:

by pat c Wed Jun 11, 2008 19:12

Latest news on Haft Tapeh. Source: Iran Labour Rights Watch.

Hundreds of Haft Tapeh Sugar Factory workers who took their protests to the streets of Shoush in Khouzistan province on June 10, 2008 were brutally attacked by security forces.They were beaten and arrested, the number of arrestees is not clear.

Haft Tapeh workers have limited their protests by gathering in front of the management offices of the company, following another brutal confrontation by security forces three weeks ago, when the workers along with their families staged a widespread rally in the city of Shoush.

by pat c Thu Jun 19, 2008 13:24

Here is the latest news regarding the strike. Full text at link.

On 16 June, the 42nd day of their strike, 2000 Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane workers gathered at a general meeting have formed their own trade union.The workers then elected their genuine representatives. According to a former Haft Tapeh worker, the executive committee of the trade union is made up of workers who have been barred from membership of the factory's Islamic labour council because of their labour activities. As a result of this, neither the Islamic labour council nor any other trade organisation has been active in the factory.

The Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane workers' trade union has not been recognised by the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry or the management of this state-owned company (yet, earlier on during the strike, the Labour Ministry and Khuzestan province officials had pretended to welcome the launch of a trade union).

We must keep up the pressure on the management of this state-owned company and the Iranian government the Iranian government to recognise the Haft Tapeh trade union, to stop the repression, to accept all the workers' demands and to drop all charges against them.

Iranian Workers' Solidarity Network
18 June 2008