Karun Agro-Industry Sugar Cane Workers On Strike

A group of sugar cane workers from Karun Agro-Industry in the city of Shoushtar took their protests to the gates of the Iranian parliament on the forth day of their strike. The workers went on strike to highlight the absence of seniority in unemployment benefits and wage calculations as well as non-compliance with the provisions of the law for difficult and hazardous occupations. The semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reports that workers with 20 to 30 years of seniority are working on the basis of part time contracts for Karun Agro Industry, cutting sugar canes and having faced problems with their seniority with the social security administration.

A worker told ILNA that “seasonal” workers have stopped working for four days and gathered by the company plants on October 20th. Their earlier protests had led to the social security and the management of two sugar cane companies to count in the seniority of the workers for the insurance and yearly bonuses but no action has taken place. The earlier agreements were under the auspices of the Parliament’s Social Commission.

Fars news agency reported that the workers set out for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs offices following lack of responses from the Parliamentary deputies.

The workers staged another gathering by the plant gates on October 27.

Source: Iran Labor Report