Wave of struggles in Iran
The surge of strikes that we are detecting around the world is now reaching Iran, where since December 2017 at least three waves of struggle have taken place.
The Iranian workers are back in action. During the past month there have been strikes in municipal services, a mine in Kerman and in hospitals. The phenomenon has been on the rise since last week's strike at the North Azadegan oil field served as a prologue to the entry into the struggle of six refineries and an oil field in Abadan and the Persian region. The workers of the Hepco heavy machinery factory also joined the strike wave.
Workers demand payment of overdue wages, minimum working conditions and a reduction in working hours. At the moment they have to work at a temperature of 50º C. Less than a week ago a worker died of heat exhaustion in a petrochemical plant. Another committed suicide because of the company's refusal to pay the arrears. In this already charged environment, threats of layoffs were the spark that precipitated the struggles. Since then, new workplaces have been joining in. And workers' demonstrations to and from the fields and industrial zones are taking on a massive scale.
Assembly of striking bus drivers.
It is not just oil workers and regions with a hydrocarbon industry. Today, on the other side of the country, a bus driver's strike and Haft Tappeh, a historical hot spot , has been on strike for fifty days.