End of Strike at Central Iron Ore Company of Bafq; Workers Returned to Work After Promises of 'Meeting Demands'

Reports from Iran indicate that workers at the Central Iron Ore Company of Bafq, the largest economic holding in Yazd province, ended their three-day strike on Thursday, April 30. The news of the 'victorious end of the strike' was announced along with a video by the 'Civil Protest Market' channel. According to Telegram channels of labor and professional organizations, following the strike and protest gathering by workers, the access roads to the Chahgart mine were blocked. The main demands of the striking workers included 'not listing iron ore on the stock exchange until all obligations of the Steel Retirement Fund to Bafq city and its employees are fulfilled, including the allocation of preferential shares to personnel, transferring 15% of the company's shares to the city, preventing layoffs, and constructing adjacent mineral processing plants.' A day before the end of the strike, the state news agency reported that 'in a meeting attended by provincial and county officials, the demands of the workers of the Central Iron Ore Company of Iran-Bafq and the resolutions of the provincial security council regarding this matter were discussed.' According to this report, Mohammad Ali Shah Hosseini, the Deputy for Economic Affairs of Yazd Province, stated in this meeting that 'the issue of two percent of iron ore sales' is emphasized by the provincial security council and must continue. He also stressed the issue of 'preferential shares for workers,' stating that this is one of Yazd Province's demands from the Steel Retirement Fund. This provincial official called for 'before any shares are offered on the stock exchange, the rights of the workers and the city, the method of entering the stock exchange, the two percent, etc., must be considered in the prospectus.' He also emphasized the need for developmental projects and completing the steel chain, calling the workers' demands 'just.' The Deputy for Economic Affairs of Yazd Province described the Central Iron Ore Company of Iran-Bafq as one of the 'most effective economic enterprises in the region' and stated that the company should 'shine like before and its rights must be realized.' This is not the first time that workers at the Central Iron Ore Company of Bafq have gone on strike and gathered. Previous strikes and gatherings occurred in the years 1999, 2011, and 2014. During the summer strike of 2014, about 5,000 workers at the Central Iron Ore Company of Bafq went on strike in protest against the privatization of this industrial unit. Workers protested the transfer of 28.5% of the mine's shares to Khuzestan Steel Company and insisted that the privatization process be halted. The striking workers believed that privatization would lead to workforce reductions, as most of them have temporary contracts, and also to wage reductions because, according to them, private employers seek to increase production at lower costs and higher profits. Other demands of the workers included changing the mine's CEO, implementing the law on hard and hazardous jobs, ensuring the establishment and funding of adjacent mineral processing plants such as iron ore processing and steelmaking plants, transferring 15% of the mine's shares to the people of Bafq, gas supply to this city, and dual-laning the Bafq-Yazd road. In recent years, over 71% of the company's shares have been transferred to the Steel Retirement Fund. However, the transfer of the remaining shares of this company to Khuzestan Steel Company in 2014 overflowed the workers' patience. This strike occurred and continued for more than five weeks as the largest workers' strike in Iran, during which various officials in Bafq supported the workers' demands due to concerns about the future of the mine and its impact on the conditions of this city. At that time, some workers were arrested by special forces dispatched to Bafq. The 2014 strike ended with a victory for the workers.