34 Workers Detained at Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company Released

The Free Workers Union of Iran reported that all 34 detained workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company have been released. This labor organization did not provide further details about the circumstances of the workers' release in a statement published on Sunday, February 4. The group was detained by special police forces who had been stationed at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company since Saturday night. According to ILNA news agency, the detained workers were released on Sunday evening after 'submitting a commitment,' but the content of this commitment is unknown. It has also not been disclosed what charges the workers were detained under. In recent years, workers and labor activists have been arrested or imprisoned on security charges. Previously, at least 70 workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company had faced legal proceedings. They were detained or summoned following a major strike by the workers in September. Razi Noori, a representative from Shush in Parliament, had previously informed ILNA on Sunday about following up on the situation of the Haft Tappeh detainees. Meanwhile, the Free Workers Union of Iran described the detention of the 34 workers as a 'pre-planned scenario' by the private employer of this unit in collusion with the officials of Shush city, stating that the aim was to turn 'the demand for overdue payments by the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company into the demand for the release of their detained colleagues, and with the release of the detained workers, the strike would end without any payment to the workers.' The detention of the 34 workers, including four representatives of the workers, occurred on the fourth day of the workers' strike at this unit. The workers were demanding their overdue payments, including eight months of bonuses, the salary for Azar (December), and two operational bonuses. Additionally, the salary for Mehr (October) has not yet been paid to the official workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company. In this context, the Free Workers Union of Iran reported that Kiumars Kazemi, the deputy CEO of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, promised to pay part of the workers' demands next week. The strike by the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company and the simultaneous crackdown on dozens of them occurred while the International Confederation of Trade Unions had recently called on its 331 member unions in 163 countries to protest against what it termed 'harassment' of labor activists and 'systematic violations' of workers' rights and their organization to the embassies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This call was made after reports of increased security and judicial crackdowns on labor activists and workers, as well as a worsening issue of unpaid wages for several months in various regions of Iran, including at Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company. The International Confederation of Trade Unions noted in its call that the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company demanded timely payment of wages, recognition of their union as representatives of the workers, reinstatement of workers who were described in this call as 'unjustly dismissed,' and the return of ownership of this unit to the government. The confederation demanded that member unions urge the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to drop all security charges against workers and labor activists, release all imprisoned labor and union activists, pay the wages and benefits of retired workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, recognize the union of the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, reinstate the dismissed workers, and return the privatized ownership of this unit to the government. The workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company have repeatedly demanded the return of ownership of this unit to the government during their protests. This demand has also been raised in several factories that were transferred to the private sector. These workers, citing economic problems and bankruptcy following privatization, argue that this situation did not exist during government ownership. Nevertheless, the government of Hassan Rouhani insists on continuing privatization policies.