Trial of 4 Sugarcane Workers' Union Activists; Charge: Participation in Strike

The Sugarcane Workers' Union of Haft Tappeh announced the 'trial' of two board members and two other union activists of this labor organization. According to this labor group, Rahim Basak and Ghorban Alipour, members of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Union board, along with Karamat Pam and Ismail Bakhti, activists of this union, were summoned and tried on Sunday, March 18, on charges of 'participating in strikes' at the third branch of the Shush judiciary. It was previously reported that these four union activists had been summoned to court by the Shush prosecutor's office. According to the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Union, Mr. Basak, Alipour, Pam, and Bakhti were temporarily released until the next court session by posting a bail. The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Union condemned 'any summons and case fabrication against workers and other labor activists' and demanded the unconditional release of all workers and labor activists. This labor organization also defended the union activities of these four activists, stating: 'The Haft Tappeh workers, on the eve of the New Year, have not only not received their annual bonus but are also owed several months of wages from the employer. Unfortunately, instead of the employer being prosecuted and held accountable, the oppressed workers are being tried.' The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Union referred to the private employer of this complex, who, according to the Telegram channel of the Free Workers' Union of Iran, has only paid half of the wages for the month of December to the workers. The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company was privatized in March 2016, and since then, according to the workers of this complex, its economic problems, including wage payment and workers' insurance rights, have increased. Since the privatization of this complex, the workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company have repeatedly gone on strike and gathered to demand their entitlements. In this context, the non-payment of workers' entitlements led to the suicide and death of Ali Naqdi, one of the seasonal workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company. Meanwhile, the labor protests of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company workers have faced security and judicial crackdowns. For instance, the Free Workers' Union of Iran reported on February 4 that 34 detained workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company had been released. The detention of this group was carried out by special forces deployed in the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company area. In recent years, workers and labor activists have been detained or sentenced to prison on security charges. Previously, at least 70 workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company had been charged in court. They were detained or summoned after a major strike by the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane workers in September. The crackdown on workers, activists, and labor organizations has drawn criticism from human rights organizations and international labor unions. This is while officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have always spoken of engaging with labor organizations.