A Student Dies After Falling from a Building While Working in Chabahar

A 19-year-old student died after falling from a building while working in Chabahar, located in the Sistan and Baluchestan province. The website 'Halosh', which covers news about Baluch citizens in Iran, identified the deceased as Zahid Parandakh, known as Zabad, from the village of Kandorban in the Rasht County. The incident occurred on Sunday, August 19. According to 'Halosh', this student, who was working in construction to cover his tuition fees, lost his life after falling from the fourth floor of the building and 'hitting his head against a concrete mold' due to 'lack of a helmet and safety equipment.' The report states that the contractor had previously rejected multiple requests from workers for safety equipment. According to Iran's forensic organization, 'falling from heights' and 'impact with a hard object' account for the highest share of workplace accident fatalities. Last year, 2,115 people lost their lives due to workplace accidents in the country. Ali Ziaei, head of the crime scene investigation group at the forensic organization, reported in May of this year that there was an over 11% increase in workplace accident fatalities compared to the previous year. This comes at a time when the statistics provided by the forensic organization and the Ministry of Labor regarding workplace fatalities have always been criticized by the labor community. Experts believe that issues such as the lack of registered employment contracts, absence of insurance for a large number of workers, and failure to report incidents by employers lead to inaccurate statistics on workplace accidents in the country. The lack of safe working tools in workshops, inadequate periodic inspections, minimal training for workers, and failure to provide safety clothing and equipment for the workforce have always contributed to an increase in workplace accidents for workers in Iran. Front Line Defenders criticized the arrest of retired worker Ismail Gerami. Insecure conditions in workshops have led to the death of one worker in Mazandaran, while two others were injured in Tehran and Shouqan. The strike of over 1,100 workers at 'Wagon Pars' in Arak continues due to unsuccessful negotiations with the employer. Food poisoning affected 180 workers in Assaluyeh, resulting in one death.