Some Steel Workers in Ahvaz Banned from Entering Company

The Telegram channel 'Independent Voice of Workers of National Steel Group' reported that several workers of this large industrial complex in Ahvaz were banned from entering the company after a new round of labor protests that began on Tuesday, February 13. The ownership of the National Industrial Steel Group of Iran is with the National Bank of Iran, and the workers of this complex have repeatedly called for a change in ownership. The crackdown on some workers of the National Industrial Steel Group of Iran comes as protesting workers demanded a review of the implementation of the job classification plan and the rectification of fundamental flaws in some of its items, as well as wage alignment with similar steel companies. Previously, workers of the National Industrial Steel Group in Ahvaz had also gone on strike for a week in January of this year to address their demands. At that time, the protesters criticized the 'slave-like attitude' of provincial, banking, and corporate officials towards workers in Khuzestan and deemed the managers' 'time-wasting' as insulting. On January 8, the Mehr News Agency reported, citing Hamid Haj Asmaeili, a labor expert and activist, that wage levels in Iran are low compared to the world, stating, 'If we look optimistically, we do not rank better than 150 among 180 countries.' According to ILNA news agency, in European and American countries, the average hourly wage is between 23 to 26 euros, but in Iran, this figure barely reaches 160 to 170 dollars per month for 192 hours of work. This is while the minimum living cost in Tehran has exceeded 30 million tomans and 22 million tomans across Iran. In recent years, the number of labor and professional protests in Iran has increased. These protests have taken the form of strikes, gatherings, and demonstrations, including issues like delayed wages, privatization, layoffs, non-implementation of job classification plans, and low wage levels. The continuation of protests and strikes by workers of the National Steel Group in Ahvaz and the cessation of related factory activities have been noted, as well as the protest gathering of workers from Khazar Steel in Gilan, which was shut down due to debts. The new round of strikes by the workers of the National Industrial Steel Group in Ahvaz continued for the second day, alongside the livelihood protests of retirees from telecommunications and social security; steelworkers in Khuzestan and Gilan also gathered.