Widespread discontent continues to be a feature of everyday life in Iran. JANE\u00a0GREEN reports on recent developments<\/p>\n
THE silence of\u00a0the international\u00a0media on\u00a0the developing\u00a0situation in the\u00a0Islamic Republic\u00a0of Iran is a growing issue as\u00a0the clampdown on opposition\u00a0within the country continues.\u00a0 In recent days Iranian\u00a0authorities have arrested 10\u00a0employees of the steel works\u00a0at Ahvaz in the oil-producing\u00a0province of Khuzestan. \u00a0The arrests follow protests by\u00a0employees of the National Steel\u00a0Industrial Group who have in\u00a0recent days been demanding\u00a0the payment of unpaid wages.<\/p>\n
The workers, who have not\u00a0been paid for the past three\u00a0months, hold the former owner\u00a0of the industrial complex, the\u00a0National Bank of Iran, responsible\u00a0for the crisis.\u00a0Protesters have also called\u00a0for the dismissal of the current\u00a0owner of the complex, Iranian\u00a0tycoon Abdolreza\u00a0 Mousavi, and\u00a0the resignation of regional\u00a0Governor-General Gholamreza\u00a0Shariati.<\/p>\n
The steel complex is symptomatic\u00a0of the corruption at the\u00a0heart of the Iranian system,\u00a0which led to thousands taking\u00a0to the streets in protest earlier\u00a0in the year.\u00a0Ahvaz National Steel Industrial\u00a0Group was established in\u00a01967 during the dictatorship\u00a0of the Shah and has recently
\nwitnessed widespread protests\u00a0over wage arrears among its\u00a0nearly 4,000-strong workforce.\u00a0The steel complex was privatised\u00a0after the Islamic Revolution\u00a0in 1979 and was later sold\u00a0to Amir Mansour Aria, who was\u00a0executed in 2011 on charges of\u00a0\u00a0embezzling nearly $1 billion.
\nThe company was then\u00a0transferred by the court to the\u00a0National Bank of Iran\u00a0and, in\u00a0October 2017, the bank sold the\u00a0complex to Mousavi.
\nAmong his other interests,\u00a0Mousavi owns a major football\u00a0club in Ahvaz, two hotels on\u00a0Kish Island in the Persian Gulf,\u00a0and is the managing director of\u00a0Zargos Airlines.\u00a0Several workers have been\u00a0arrested by the factory\u2019s security\u00a0organisation for demanding\u00a0back pay.<\/p>\n
Employees are in debt\u00a0because they have no other\u00a0source of income. Some have\u00a0had their accounts closed by\u00a0their banks for failure to pay
\nservice fees. Most are without\u00a0health insurance, as the company\u00a0has stopped paying their\u00a0premiums.\u00a0The situation in Ahvaz is\u00a0mirrored by action elsewhere\u00a0in Iran as widespread discontent\u00a0continues to be a feature\u00a0of everyday life in the country.\u00a0Construction workers in the
\nnorth-western city of Urmia\u00a0who have not been paid in the\u00a0last year held a protest recently.\u00a0 \u00a0Last month steel mill workers\u00a0in Urmia held a rally in front\u00a0of the governor-general\u2019s office\u00a0demanding delayed wages.\u00a0Scores of retired employees\u00a0of Central Alborz Coal in the\u00a0northern Mazandaran province\u00a0protested in the city of Zeerab\u00a0last month to demand their\u00a0overdue pensions.\u00a0Labour protests have also\u00a0been reported in the cities of\u00a0Shahr-e Kord and Gachsaran.<\/p>\n
The Union of Metalworkers\u00a0and Mechanics of Iran (UMMI)\u00a0has issued a statement condemning\u00a0recent arrests stating:
\n\u201cDuring the past few days,\u00a0we have witnessed the plundering\u00a0by the government of\u00a0workers\u2019 savings in the social\u00a0security fund, while Osman
\nEsmaili, a painter and decorator,\u00a0Mohammad Habibi, a\u00a0teacher and member of the\u00a0executive board of Tehran\u00a0Teachers\u2019 Association and
\n10 protesting workers of the\u00a0National Iranian Steel Industrial\u00a0Company in Ahvaz city\u00a0were unlawfully and violently\u00a0arrested.\u201d
\nThe statement goes on to\u00a0point out that the arrests contravene\u00a0Article 27 of the Iranian\u00a0constitution which allows\u00a0for participation in protests,\u00a0strikes and rallies.\u00a0The response of the Iranian\u00a0authorities, however, has typically\u00a0been one of denial, with\u00a0the Supreme Leader of the\u00a0Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali\u00a0Khamenei, accusing \u201cforeign\u00a0enemies\u201d of stoking discord among Iranian workers.\u00a0The reality remains, however,\u00a0as the protests which consumed\u00a0the country in January this year\u00a0showed, that the consequences\u00a0of the economic mismanagement
\nand corruption perpetrated\u00a0by the current regime\u00a0are beginning to hit home.\u00a0The reach of \u201cforeign enemies\u201d\u00a0would have to be extensive
\nin order to co-ordinate the\u00a0range of protests which have\u00a0swept across the country in\u00a0recent weeks.\u00a0The regime\u2019s claims have, in
\nthe past, been a tried and tested\u00a0way of unifying the country\u00a0against the threat of external\u00a0interference.\u00a0However, the\u00a0reality of life\u00a0for most ordinary\u00a0Iranians\u00a0is such that the\u00a0rhetoric of the\u00a0theocratic leadership appears\u00a0increasingly jaded and out of\u00a0touch with their experience.
\nThe mainstream international\u00a0media have failed to\u00a0reflect the momentum of ongoing\u00a0protest since the actions\u00a0which were widely reported
\nin January of this year.\u00a0 \u00a0The day-to-day struggles of\u00a0Iranian workers may not be\u00a0deemed to be the stuff of headlines\u00a0but they are a barometer
\nof the changing mood inside\u00a0the country.\u00a0The inability of Iranian President\u00a0Hassan Rouhani to deliver\u00a0upon his rhetoric of reform will
\nadd further to the desire for\u00a0change. \u00a0The threat of external interference,\u00a0from either the United\u00a0States or Israel, remains a real
\none, adding to the sense of\u00a0insecurity and uncertainty for\u00a0ordinary Iranians.\u00a0Imprisoning workers for\u00a0demanding their wages and
\nprotesting for being unpaid\u00a0will not endear the regime or\u00a0its corrupt industrial cronies to\u00a0the Iranian people.\u00a0The pressure for change in
\nIran continues to grow. The\u00a0question now is not if, but when?<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Jane Green is national organiser\u00a0of the Committee for the Defence of\u00a0the Iranian People\u2019s Rights.<\/p>\n