Iran: New protest rallies in Tehran & other cities

HEPCO workers protesting in Arak, central Iran – September 15, 2019

Iran, September 16, 2019—Workers of the HEPCO company in the city of Arak, central Iran, held yet another protest rally on Sunday, September 15, demanding answers on their status as company shareholders. The protesting workers were holding a banner reading, “We HEPCO workers are making it crystal clear: Our main demand is the clarification of the company shareholding and ownership status following five years of being left in limbo. We will no longer accept merely a new company director.”

HEPCO Company employees have a history of holding such protest rallies. On Saturday, September 7, they gathered outside the company's main office building, holding signs and demanding the status of their company stocks/shares be clarified with the officials.

"We HEPCO workers are shouting loud and clear that we are demanding the clarification of our share-holding status and ownership of the HEPCO Company after five years of being left in limbo. We're not looking for just a new company manager," the sign read.

It is worth noting that Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani issued a Privatization Organization statement recently appointing Abolfazl Roghani as the new director-general of the HEPCO holding company.

In Tehran, a number of teachers who had been dispatched to teach in foreign countries in previous years, rallied outside the regime’s Ministry of Education in Tehran on Sunday. This was the second day of this protest rally as the teachers were demanding their delayed paychecks. “We are here. We will stand. We will not succumb to living in shame and will continue pressing for our rights.”

The Tehran branch of the Iran Teachers Union issued a statement on Thursday, September 12, condemning harsh and oppressive court rulings issued by the mullahs’ so-called judiciary against teachers, workers, and their advocates. The statement demands the unconditional release of all individuals who have been sentenced through an unjust and unfair due process.

“What type of judicial system is this where corrupt individuals and thieves are actually encouraged to continue their plundering while any voice seeking justice is silenced at the very start,” the statement reads in part while referring to the escalating corruption crisis causing major dilemmas for the Iranian regime.

“In our opinion, a fair and just system of due process is that these individuals be released and open cases be closed,” the statement emphasizes.

In the town of Eslamshahr, southwest of Tehran, permanent workers of the Persian Gulf Road Transportation Company held yet another rally on Sunday, protesting the reasoning behind contracts of permanent employees being changed into contract workers. This rally was held outside the company’s management office.

Second day of a protest rally held by employees of the Persian Gulf Road Transportation Company – Eslamshahr, southeast Iran

In the city of Qazvin, northwest Iran, employees of the Qazvin Counter Manufacturing Company rallied outside the regime’s provincial office on Sunday, demanding their paychecks that have been delayed for the past 20 months.

Employees of the Qazvin Counter Manufacturing Company – Qazvin, northwest Iran – September 16, 2019.

One of the most endemic problems of Iran’s labor force is unpaid wages. Iran’s workers are often deprived of receiving the meager salaries their employers have committed to pay them. This is a problem that has become exacerbated in the past two years, and Iranian workers often go months and even more than a year without receiving their salaries.

In the city of Urmia, northwest Iran, a group of locals rallied on Saturday, September 14, protesting the municipality confiscating and selling their lands. This has been a trend witnessed in cities across the country as the mullahs’ regime continues to plunder the Iranian people to fund its malign activities both inside the country and abroad.

Locals protesting the confiscation of their lands by the regime’s municipality authorities – Urmia, northwest Iran – September 14, 2019

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