JANUARY 2021

The pensions Must grows at a higher rate than inflation "Unity is the key to victory"

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Introduction 3

Government officials refuse to release Covid-19 statistics among workers 4

Statement of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company 5

News 6 -9

Workplace Accidents 10 "Unity is the key to victory" 10

Political Prisoners 11 End the torture of prisoners 12

Contacts 13

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Introduction Nowadays the Iranian labour movement is the main protest movement against austerity and economic misery in Iran. Everyday struggles against low wages, unsecure jobs, temporary contracts and privatization are the daily events in Iran. Efforts to create non-governmental workers organizations and releasing imprisoned labour activists and teachers are the main struggles of the Iranian worker protest movement. According to everyday strikes and protests num- bers, the Iranian worker class is the one of the most active labour movement in the region. We are trying to coverage the most of Iranian workers and teachers protests by publishing the Monthly Karzar.

Long live international labour comradeship

Campaign in Support Iranian Workers (CSIW)

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The Government officials refuse to release Covid-19 statistics among workers

Even in the days when the government imposed a curfew to "control the corona transmission cycle" and public and administrative premises were closed, production workers were forced to travel and work, and were more at risk than others. Government officials, however, refuse to disclose clear statistics on coro- nary heart disease among workers. Only three provinces in three different time periods have reported the number of workers affected by the disease. Workers in workplaces at short distances are sometimes forced to drop their masks. The Department of Labor does not provide accurate statistics on the number of workers infected with Corona. In Hamedan, 791 workers were reported infected with Corona by the end of October, and 729 workers in North Khorasan on October 13 This statistic, however, includes only workers in production units. In Zanjan, the number of workers involved with the corona has reached about 4,000. On this account, 12.3% of the workers in this province have been caught in Covid-19. A government official in the province, however, did not consider the figures "accurate" and said that even the number of workers killed was more than three. "The coronavirus is 'out of control' in manufac- turing units," he said. "In factories where there are large numbers of workers on the production line, the only means of protect- ing them is a mask, which is usually distributed in large units but not enough for workers to replace it on a daily basis," he said. Labor activists and workers have previously written open letters to government officials asking them to come up with a way to protect their health. A request that has been ignored so far. According to the head of the Health Organization of the Ministry of Oil, 400 workers and employees of this sector have lost their lives. Municipal workers are another group at risk. In Tehran alone, according to municipal officials, more than 2,500 workers and employees of the organization became infected with the Corona virus. This dis- ease has killed 90 taxi drivers in Tehran alone.

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Statement of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company in support of the nationwide protests of retirees

It is stated in this statement: “Since the last two years, inflation has increased and has destroyed up to seventy percent of the purchas- ing power of retirees and workers. The voice of the protests of the minimum wage earners, especially the retirees, has become louder. So that even the formal and coordinated complaints of the workers' house agents and unrealistic repre- sentatives could not marginalize the protests of workers and retirees as in previous years.” The statement also referred to the negative role of government organizations in labour protests: “Unfortunately, due to the lack of independent workers’ organizations , the agents of the ‘’Workers' House’’ and ‘’Islamic councils work’’ for nearly thirty years with support of security forces and government have imposed their policy on workers and retirees and using all the resources of workers and pensioners against them. Only a certain number of people who participate in their by-elections and have played a role in suppressing organizations such as the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company are provided of facilities.”-- The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company announces: ‘’Only through solidarity and organization and the creation of an independent organization for them- selves can Social Security retirees and pensioners escape both the miserable living conditions and the threadbare conspiracies of the employers' agents of the ''Workers' House'' and the ''Islamic Labour Coun- cils'', which are only supporter of the establishment interests.

7 million Iranian workers are not covered by any healt in- surance "According to official statistics, there are over seven million official workers in the country who do not have any insur- ance.Following the outbreak of the corona epidemic in Iran, the number of formal and seasonal workers in the country has increased, which has led to an increase in the number of workers who are not covered by any insurance in the coun- try and many workers who apparently have health insurance are virtually deprived of insurance “ said Shariatmadari, the minister of co-operation, labor and social welfare.

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NEWS

Retirees gather in Tehran January 12 to call of independent pensioners' organizations, retirees have held a protest rally in front of the parliament in Tehran.

January 26, 2021, a number of Social Security Organisation retirees held a protest rally in front of the Program and Budget Organization building to protest the non-processing of their demands. The protesting retirees stated that some of their demands were the im- plementation of the law on equalization of salaries, solving the problems of supplementary insurance, paying the end-of-year bonus and calculating the records of hard and harmful jobs in the proportional calculation.

Hepco workers protest January 21, Hepco workers gathered to protest the production conditions and the lack of clearing of the company's debts in Arak city. The workers of this industrial unit stated that the reason for this protest was the demand from the offi- cials regarding the clearing of the company's debts and the government's support for resume the produc- tion in HEPCO. On same day, the governor had a meeting with the Minister of Labor and the CEO of the Social Security Organization. The workers want to follow up on their demands in this meeting. Hepco workers say that the company's debts must be cleared as soon as possible so that the locks can be unlocked and produc- tion can resume.

Protest rally of temporary employees of Pars Energy Special Economic Zone Organization The employees held a protest rally on Monday, February 4, to protest against the low wage and the neg- ligence of the National Oil Company and the Ministry of Oil to implement the directives to improve the employment status of the employees.

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NEWS

Continuation of the protest of the workers of Pars Pamchal factory in Qazvin Workers at the Pars Pamchal factory in Qazvin rallied for several days in a row on January 12 to protest the non-payment of their wage claims. The protesting workers have been holding rallies in front of various institutions for several days now, demanding the payment of 4 months 'wages arrears and the payment of 8 months' premiums to the So- cial Security Organization. The arrears of the workers of Pars Pamchal factory have not been paid, which according to one of the workers' representatives: the main problem of this production unit, in addition to wage demands, is the problems that some institutions have created for us a year ago and blocked the factory's export activities.

The second day of the zinc miners' strike, Gojar Ravar On January 15, for the second day in a row, workers at the Gojar Ravard mine in Kerman province went on strike to protest low wages and lack of job security. One of the striking workers at the Gojar Ravar mine told a local media reporter: "With 2 children, he receives a salary of 3 million and 200 thousand Tomans(120-150 $) per month." He complains about the high cost of living and this low wages. Job security, as always, is the missing puzzle of workers' lives. According to the same local news source, the managing director of this mine wanted to increase the worker's wages but was opposed by the board of directors. There are even reports of a change of CEO. About 220 workers work in this mine. A mine that has been closed at various times from 2005 to 2015 and has changed 5 CEOs.

Private bus drivers strike On the 21st of January, the drivers of the private bus company "Iranian Wireless Bus and Taxi" went on strike all day. Drivers demand payment of wage arrears, transfer of one-third of bus ownership to drivers and pay part of the maintenance costs of the buses by the company. These privatized lines, operate under the auspices of the BRT system and were re- placed after the strike by the system's direc- tor and deputy operator, without giving drivers a guarantee that their demands would be met.

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A mass protest rally of water supply project workers in Sistan plain On January 14th, a group of workers of the Sistan Plain Water Supply Project (Kermanshah's Jihad Nasr Contracting Company) gathered at their workplace to reflect as much as possible their voices against the non-payment of 5 months' wages.

Protest rally of the nurses On January 26, nurses of Shiraz Central Private Hospital rallied to protest low wages. These nurses say: The hospital officials must pay their demands according to the existing laws and directives. Recently, a circular was issued by the Ministry of La- bor to increase the salaries of hospital staff, but unfortunately the hospital does not care. These nurses say: Shiraz Central Hospital is a pri- vate hospital and its staff and nurses are subject to the provisions of the Labor Law and Social Insur- ance. Here are some of the main demands of these nurses: increase wages and improve working con- ditions.

Teachers' protest rallies; A group of teachers in Abadan held a protest On Monday, January 26, a number of fired preschool rally in front of the "Khane Mellat" building in teachers gathered in front of the governor's office in the city on Monday, January 26, due to the fact Baghmalek city in Khuzestan province. that their names were not included in the Min- istry of Education's employment quota list.

Re-gathering of instructor teachers in front of the parliament (February 6) The instructor teachers resumed their gathering in front of the parliament build- ing while examining the plan to determine their employment status in the parliament.

The protest rally of the employed teachers was held in front of the parliament on Sunday, February 3, 2021 to equalize the wages with other professional bodies and to protest against the large difference in salaries. The teachers say that our salary is 2 million Tomans(80 $) and the poverty line is 10 million Tomans(400 $). 8

Yasuj Sugar Factory protest

On February 4, workers at the Yasuj Sugar Factory gathered in front of the Tejarat Bank and the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Governor's Offices for the second time, demanding that the situation at the factory improve as soon as possible. According to one of the workers of the Yasuj sugar factory, the transfer of the sugar factory took place after the cancellation order by the judiciary in the "General Office of Registration and Documents" of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Provinces. But the managers of the Tejarat Bank of the country and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Provinces are procrastinating to get back the Yasuj sugar factory, and dozens of workers are left in limbo

Urmia Combined Cycle Power went on strike February 4, workers at the Urmia Combined Cycle Power went on strike and closed the entrance of the company. The workers of Urmia Power have not received any wages for 5 months. For this reason, while stopping work, they gathered in front of the office building and demanded payment of all their wage arrears. One of the workers present at the rally also said that in addition to the 5 months salary ar- rears, their insurance premiums were not paid to the Social Security Organization during this period.

Protest rally of temporary employees of Pars Energy Special Economic Zone Organization

The employees held a protest rally on Monday, February 4, to protest against the low wage and the neg- ligence of the National Oil Company and the Ministry of Oil to implement the directives to improve the employment status of the employees.

Tabriz Municipality workers protest On February 2, 2021, a group of Tabriz Municipality employees protested in front of the central building of the municipality of this city in protest of the non-implementation of labour law and lack of health in- surance. The employees of Tabriz Municipality had held a protest rally in front of the city council a few days ago. The demonstrators say: After the gathering in front of the Tabriz City Council a few days ago, the offi- cials promised to solve the problem of the training instructor contract. But this issue was not resolved after about two weeks and on Thursday we were faced with a new contract to pay 15 days of premiums and salaries per month.

January 12, 2021 Social security retirees in more than 19 cities including Tehran, Kerman, Bojnourd, Rasht, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Ilam, Tabriz, Shousha, Kermanshah, Esfarayen, Khorramabad, Karaj, Arak, Mashhad, Hamadan, Boroujerd, Yazd And Shiraz gathered in front of the governor's office, the governor's office or the social security of their city to protest their living conditions.

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Workplace Accidents Two railway workers were killed in an accident Two railway workers named "Mohammad Ali Bidad Karimi" from the vehicle unit and "Milad Rahimi" from the railway sign and communication unit of Isfahan province, had a work related accidents accident and lost their lives.

Three workers died in the oil boiler The incident happened on the day (January 7) for three workers of the leading Assam Petro factory, which is engaged in leather production. Two workers with a relatively long work experience were standing next to an oil pan on the day of the accident when they suddenly fell into the boiler and lost their lives as a result of the accident. The cause of the accident has not been announced yet, but according to the initial report, officials say that when one of the workers fell into the oil boiler, the second and third workers also tried to save their colleagues, which unfortunately did not work and all three lost their lives. The workers who died were one Afghan national and two others were Iranians from Qorveh, Kurdistan, who worked for the company.

"Unity is the key to victory"

Announcement of Iran National Steel Industrial Group’s worker In this statement, the workers, while opposing the formation of the "Islamic Labor Council", have stated that this council is run by the employer and is to ignore the weaknesses of management. Some of the issues raised in this statement are: Implementation of workers' administrative orders. Payment of pandemic claims due to the mandatory presence of workers and their maximum function and other arrears. Provide appropriate health insurance for workers and their families. At the end of this statement, the workers called for the establishment of independent labor organiza- tions. INSIG is a formal member of the International Iron & Steel Institute with more than 35 years history in producing constructional steel in Ahvaz (Khouzestan province).

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Javanmir Moradi was released on bail Javanmir Moradi was arrested on January 5, 2021 by the Kerman- shah Revolutionary Guards on charges of propaganda against the re- gime and membership in dissident groups, and was transferred to the quarantine of Disel Abad Prison eight days later. Examples of accusations include activities in defense of workers' rights, interviews with foreign satellite channels regarding the situa- tion of prisoners and the torture of political prisoners, video mes- sages on the anniversary of the 2020 massacre, being against the exe- cution of Navid Afkari and Ruhollah Zam, distribution of financial aid among child labour, and publish- ing reports and photos from the moment of distribution of auxiliary items through the telegram channel of Kermanshah Electrical and Metal Workers Association. It should be noted that the channel of Kermanshah Electricity and Metal Workers Association has been blocked by IRGC intelligence and Javanmir Moradi's mobile phone is still in the hands of IRGC intelli- gence. The trial of Amir Chamani was held Amir Chamani was tried in the first part of his case in November 2020 in Branch 112 of the 2nd Criminal Court of Tabriz. He was arrested on April 5 last year and transferred to the IRGC Intelligence Detention Center in Tabriz. He was finally released on May 20 on bail pending trial. On Wednesday, December 15, 2020, the trial of Amir Chamani was held in the Revolutionary Court of Tabriz. During this hearing, which was held in Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Tabriz on the com- plaint of the IRGC Intelligence Organization and the indictment of the Tabriz Prosecutor, Mr. Chamani was tried on charges of "propaganda agai the regime." Amir Chamani had previously been tried in Branch 112 of the 2nd Criminal Court of Tabriz, presided over by Judge Mohammad Ali Piri, on November 13 in the first part of his case on charges of "spreading lies against the government."

Arash Johari was sentenced to 16 years in prison Arash Johari, a labor activist, was sentenced by the Tehran Revolution- ary Court to 16 years in prison. Mr. Johari, who was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents in Tehran on October 6, 2020 and transferred to the detention Ward 2A of Evin Prison, is currently being held in the general ward of Evin Prison. If this sentence is upheld at the appeal stage, with the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the most se- vere punishment, 10 years of imprisonment, will be applicable to him. According to this sentence, which was recently issued and announced by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, Arash Johari was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for managing illegal political groups with the aim of disrupting the security of the country, 5 years imprisonment for collaboration with the intention of disrupting the security of society and one year in prison for propaganda activities against the regime. 11

Summoning 20 Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers to an inter- rogation session in the Susa city court

On January 18, 2017, Branch 1 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of Susa city in Khuzestan province summoned 20 workers working in the Haft Tappeh sugarcane factory to attend the interrogation session. On Tuesday, January 14, 2017, twenty workers working in different units of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Cultivation and Industry Complex were summoned to Branch 1 of the Public and Revolutionary Prose- cutor's Office of Susa to attend the interrogation session and to be informed of the charges. The charges against the labor activists were described as "disturbing public order."

End the torture of prisoners

Statement of Political Prisoners.

Sixty-eight political prisoners in Evin, Ra- jai Shahr, and Greater Tehran prisons issued the following statement protesting the beating of prisoners. It is stated in part of this statement: ‘’ On Friday, January 26, two political prisoners, Afshin Shahsavari and Hamid Monafi, were beaten by officers in the quarantine hall of Evin Prison, during which Afshin Shahsavari was severely beaten. Officers took him out of the hall, handcuffed him where there was no camera, and again brutally attacked him. The beating and wounding of prisoners by officers has a long history of several decades; But from what has happened and been revealed in recent months, we can mention the following: Mehdi Maskin Nawaz and Reza Mohammad Hosseini were beaten and wounded in Rajai Shahr prison; Golrokh Erayi and Soheila Hijab in Qarchak Prison, Narges Mohammadi in Evin Prison and Navid Afkari in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.’' The signatories concluded by noting that the beating of prisoners is systematic torture; ‘’It is simplistic to assume that such confrontations are the result of the negligence of several "arbitrary" officials. We, the prisoners who signed this statement, condemn my beating and wounding of prisoners and call for an end to this oppressive and repressive treatment, and we pursue our just demands.’’

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Campaign in Support of Iranian Workers january2021

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