Management of National Industrial Steel Group in Ahvaz Dismisses Several Protesting Workers

The management of the National Industrial Steel Group in Ahvaz has dismissed several workers following protests and strikes by the company's employees in the last months of the previous year. The Telegram channel 'Independent Voice of Workers of the National Steel Group' noted that another group of workers participating in the protests are 'in line for dismissal.' According to the report, 'in the last days of Esfand 1402, several colleagues were dismissed under the pretext of contract expiration, and others were transferred to Ghadir Stadium to also be in line for dismissal.' The Telegram channel added: 'This decision was executed with the fabrication of cases by security and protection agents and orchestrated by Ali Mohammadi, CEO of the National Industrial Steel Group, following months of failed attempts to create division among workers and also shameful rumors about some colleagues.' Workers of the National Industrial Steel Group have repeatedly protested and gone on strike over poor working conditions and the lack of legal minimums in recent months. Additionally, see: The Ministry of Labor's resolution favors employers; it has become easier to dismiss workers. This industrial unit has also been without a 'Islamic Labor Council,' one of the labor organizations approved by the Islamic Republic government, which the labor law passed in 1369 emphasizes the necessity of establishing in workplaces. Workers at this production unit, which is currently managed and decision-making is primarily with Bank Melli Iran, have repeatedly protested against mismanagement and harmful decision-making for this collection and its workers. The protesting workers of this large production unit criticized the 'slave-like view' of provincial, banking, and corporate officials in Khuzestan towards workers in a statement at the beginning of Dey. They also deemed the managers' 'time-wasting' as insulting. Meanwhile, the Independent Voice of Workers of the National Steel Group emphasized: 'The dismissal of any worker is an assault on the labor movement, and we have practically shown that we stand united with the dismissed worker and do not allow any assault on the livelihood and lives of our colleagues.' Last year, a large number of protests and strikes were held by workers and other wage earners in various regions of Iran. The website Hrana, a collection of human rights activists in Iran, reported on the 28th of Esfand 1402 that at least 2257 protests occurred in Iran that year, of which 408 were labor protests and 1465 were professional gatherings. According to this report, alongside the protests, at least 38 professional strikes, 134 labor strikes, and two student strikes were also held. Hrana emphasized that the statistics presented in this report 'cannot be considered a complete reflection of the human rights situation in Iran, as the Iranian government does not allow independent human rights organizations to operate freely and access necessary resources; therefore, these reports should be seen as a minimum definition of the human rights situation in Iran, reported solely by civil institutions including Hrana and collected and registered through the statistical body of this organization.'