Dozens of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers Charged in Court

The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate announced in a statement that 53 workers of the company were charged in the first branch of the Shush court for "participating in recent strikes and inciting workers" and were temporarily released after providing bail and salary slips. Previously, according to the Telegram page of the Free Workers' Union of Iran, these workers were told to bring a "guarantor for bail". The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate condemned any "case-making against all workers and other wage earners" in its statement. The ILNA news agency also reported on Sunday that the number of workers summoned to court was 30. According to this report, Siamak Afshar, the deputy of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, confirmed the summoning of several workers by the Shush prosecutor's office, stating: "The summons of these workers to judicial authorities is unrelated to this industrial unit, and the judicial and law enforcement officials of Shush made this decision themselves." Meanwhile, the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate accused Siamak Afshar in a statement on Friday of sending a list of workers who participated in the protests to the Shush judiciary in collaboration with the company's security. According to ILNA, the deputy of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company speculated that the summoning of workers might be related to a labor protest that had been organized by a group of workers in recent weeks. Earlier, 15 workers from this company were arrested on the 4th of Mordad by security forces and police under a Shush prosecutor's order. These workers were released from the Fajr detention center in Dezful with a commitment or a bail of 20 million tomans as their colleagues continued their strike. Previously, Mostafa Nazari, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Shush, had informed the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, about the "intervention of the public prosecutor in the collective problems of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane workers" and stated: "The workers of this factory have demands that the prosecutor's office is pursuing." Before that, according to the state news agency IRNA, this judiciary official had advised the protesting workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane to pursue their demands legally, as he claimed that gathering on the road and blocking traffic was "an illegal act." Mostafa Nazari stated: "Those who have engaged in unauthorized gatherings will be identified and punished." The strike of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane workers occurred due to unpaid wages for the months of Ordibehesht and Khordad this year, as well as unpaid wages from Bahman and Esfand 1394, eight months of last year's bonuses, and two years' worth of bonuses in recent days. They have repeatedly blocked roads leading to this unit, citing what they called the indifference of company officials and the Khuzestan province to their problems. Following the workers' strike, according to government officials, the private employer of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company only paid one month's wages to the workers. Additionally, according to some reports, even this amount was not paid to the members of the board of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate. Meanwhile, the deputy of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company announced that the bonuses for the past two years would not be paid to workers because, according to him, this unit had not made a profit during this time. Reports indicate that the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company are also demanding the return of ownership of this unit to the government. The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company was privatized in Esfand 1394. This privatization faced criticism, including from a representative of Shush who criticized the sale of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company to two young men aged 28 and 31, stating that this would create problems for the workers of this unit. The summoning of dozens of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane workers to court comes amid criticism from several labor organizations, including the Free Workers' Union of Iran, the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, the Workers' Rights Defenders Association, and the Metalworkers and Mechanics Syndicate, regarding the detention of several striking Haft Tappeh workers in early Mordad. In this regard, Peter Rosman, the international section head and campaign manager of the International Federation of Food, Agricultural and Allied Workers' Unions, told Radio Farda that this federation would take action if such behavior continues, including filing complaints with international labor organizations. In recent years, several workers participating in labor protests and labor activists have been dismissed, summoned, arrested, or imprisoned. Human rights organizations and international labor unions have repeatedly criticized such actions, calling for an end to security and judicial actions against labor activists and the release of imprisoned workers and labor activists.