Hundreds of Hepco Factory Workers March in Arak

About 900 workers from the Hepco factory in Arak marched on Tuesday, July 2, in protest against the failure to fulfill their payment demands by the employer, marching from the production unit to the Central Governorate building and the central square of Arak. According to the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, one of the participating workers noted that Hepco workers had also staged a strike and march on Monday. Meanwhile, according to the Telegram channel of the Workers' Rights Defender Association, Hepco factory workers carried placards during their march on Monday criticizing the import of construction machinery, which has led to 'Hepco's bankruptcy and the collapse of the workers' lives.' One of the placards addressed to officials read: '120 days have passed since your promise to hold a celebration for the prosperity of Hepco; what have you done until today?' According to ILNA, a participating worker in the protests stated that the Privatization Organization transferred the management of Hepco to Hydro Atlas on June 3, with one of the commitments of this transfer being the payment of 4.5 months of wages to the workers, which has not yet been fulfilled. The report indicated that the new employer was supposed to pay all wage and insurance arrears for about 1,000 Hepco workers by the end of June, but apparently, the new employer does not have sufficient financial capacity to meet the workers' overdue claims. ILNA reported that this situation is occurring despite officials having guaranteed the 'financial competence' of Hydro Atlas as the new buyer of Hepco. Following a month-long protest by Hepco workers last year, the previous shareholder, the Kowsar Wagon Manufacturing Company, was dismissed due to lack of 'competence.' Meanwhile, Shakrollah Hassan Beigi, the political deputy of the Central Governor, announced last February that the main owner of Hepco had been arrested and is obliged to pay all legal claims of the workers by the end of this year. Hepco workers had staged strikes, gatherings, and marches to receive four months of their wages. They also protested the privatization of the factory, demanding its return to public ownership, a demand that has received support from Mahmoud Zamani Qomi, the governor of Central Province.