In December 2018 we wrote an an article entitled _Workers' Strikes in Iran: This Time it is Different_ (https://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2018-12-29/workers-strikes-in-iran-…) (1) about the end of the magnificent strikes and demonstrations of the Haft Tapeh(2) sugarcane factory workers. The promises which were made to the workers then were once again broken, and when they had not been paid since March 2020 they resumed their strike on 15 June. As we write they have now been on strike for over 2 months.
They are not alone. With the Haft Tapeh workers' strike entering its 64th day, it is reported that from the first of August, a wave of strikes has spread in the oil and gas industries and petrochemical complexes in Ahvaz, Abadan, Isfahan, Qeshm, Mahshahr, Kangan, Lamerd, Mehr, Jafir and Dasht-e Azadegan, Sabalan power plant company in Ardabil, as well as Hepco in Arak, and marked one of the most important and widespread workers’ strikes in recent years. The protests in most cases are for their overdue wages, against the laying off of contract workers, improved working conditions, and greater job and livelihood security, against price hikes (the national currency has massively depreciated – it is the lowest in 35 years), removal of the Islamic Shura, and thus against militarisation of the workplace, etc.(3)
The Iranian economy is in deep crisis. As we have pointed out many times before, this is fundamentally due to the world capitalist crisis, however, the combination of ruling class corruption and incompetence, and international sanctions has exacerbated it. Some workers are demanding the re-nationalisation of their works since they hope that even a corrupt state will pay their wages more promptly whilst the crooks who got hold of the firms are given state grants to keep them operating. Grants which are not invested in the firm but in the bank accounts of the owners.
However to put things in their wider context let’s start where the Haft Tapeh workers left off in December 2018. In the course of their struggle the strikers of Haft Tapeh developed a wider vision than the immediate realisation of their necessary demands. This was voiced by the Haft Tapeh worker, Yousef Yar Ali, at the end of the strike. In response to the question of whether this was “the end of the struggle” he prophetically stated:
"... it is a mistake if anyone thinks that we did not know that it would not be possible to conquer the factory or have workers’ control with this strike, we knew and know and the workers know too!!! In order to achieve a soviet way of life, factory conquests and worker's control require much larger struggles and a very wide-spread class solidarity, and in order to advance towards such goals, the working class needs to seize political power, but ... it has to start from somewhere ... It began in Haft Tapeh, and will continue in Haft Tapeh again, and no doubt will start soon in other factories. The struggle in the Haft Tapeh was just a first step to start to show what soviet life meant, so workers get to know where and how they can achieve their rights, we keep wanting a soviet life-style, and we will use every effort to achieve it and to do so we are not afraid of facing any problems. We are present where the struggle is and undoubtedly, in the near future, hand in hand with the rest of the workers, the streets and cities and the whole country under the feet of the workers will again tremble. We are the workers who have become aware of our own class rights and will not give up on our demands until the overthrow of capitalist government and establishment of workers' soviets, so we can have a soviet life-style to pave the way for the potential growth for workers and other members of the community and to bring it to all Iranian people ..."
Perhaps now that wider movement is beginning, but to expand it faces a number of massive obstacles. We can see this just by examining all the tricks and pressures that the state has brought to bear on the workers' movement since December 2018. It is a story of great effort and courage in dealing with the problems posed by the regime. The workers did what they said they would do. They fought tooth and nail, risking their lives, not only in the face of torture, intimidation, arrests and imprisonment, they did not give up for a moment, and not only in the face of hundreds of arrests and imprisonments, they stood like a mountain and insisted on their demands, but also in the face of thousands of conspiracies and tricks, lies and blackmail and attempts to divert their struggles, they demonstrated their class consciousness. They thwarted the plans and betrayals of a few traitors in their ranks, and resisted the temptations of reformists and the deception of false friends. Just a day after the end of their strike in 2018, they started fighting again. A brief look, however, only at the headline of this resistances, on the one hand, shows the brutal and barbaric nature of this regime, and on the other hand, shines light on the nature of the militancy of a class that has no way to save itself except in resisting the barbarism of this system. In this turbulent course, not only did that glorious strike become a valuable experience for the Haft Tapeh workers themselves, but, as expected, it also had unprecedented effects on the struggles of other sections of the working class and at the same time benefited from their immediate support. Today, when Kerman coal workers go on strike in front of the governor's office in the city, and involve their families in the protests, they are doing exactly what their comrades did in Haft Tapeh when they took their protests to the governor's office in Shush with their families. In this brief overview, we will try to emphasize the strengths and achievements of this resistance and critique its weaknesses in order to contribute to its development.
== What took place....
== A wave of arrests, torture and solid resistance
Ismail Bakhshi, who was arrested along with 17 other workers and the female social activist Sepideh Qalyan on 18 November 2018, after 25 days of detention and torture, was released on bail on 23 December 2018. In a short note, by saying, _"Although I no longer understand the meaning of freedom, I felt a little free,"_ (http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2018-12-29/workers-strikes-in-iran-t…) he remained silent for a short time. His colleagues interpreted and understood his silence correctly and confidently. And with admirable confidence, they defended him wholeheartedly and demanded that the case against him be stopped. Prior to his release, on 2 December 2018, security forces raided the home of Ali Nejati without a warrant. This former workers’ representative, and member of the Syndicate of Haft Tapeh, was beaten mercilessly before being taken into custody. Asal Mohammadi, a female pharmaceutical student at the Azad University, was arrested as a member of the editorial board of _Gam Magazine_ (which reported extensively on the strike) on 4 December 2018, on the eve of Student Day in Tehran, and was transferred to the Revolutionary Court of Evin Prison.
Sepideh Qalyan, who was arrested along with 17 Haft Tapeh workers after a month of detention, was released on bail on 18 December 2018. Less than two weeks after his release, on 4 January 2019, Ismail Bakhshi wrote an open letter to the Minister of Intelligence claiming that he had been severely tortured during his 25-day detention. He invited the Minister of Information to a televised debate. The very writing of such a letter showed his ingenuity and courage to challenge the power of this regime, as torture and intimidation have been the fundamental tools of this reactionary regime over the past 40 years. However, he wrote in his letter:
"During the 25 days I was unjustly held in detention by your Ministry of Intelligence I was inflicted with pains and sufferings I am still grappling with. _
First: during the first few days of detention I was tortured to the brink of death without hearing a single reason or even being spoken to a single word. The torrent of the kicks and punches was so harsh that afterwards, in my solitary cell, I could not even move a limb ... _
The second problem that bugs me, Mr. Alavi, much more significant to me and my family than the physical and psychological tortures, is the tapping of my phone and eavesdropping on me and my family’s conversations by your intelligence services. I was told by my interrogator, "We know everything about you. We even know how many times your wife has argued with you about your struggles." When I asked, "How do you know?", he replied, "Your phone was tapped for a long time" ... _
I, therefore, invite you, Mr. Alavi, to a live debate on national TV in order to hear your answers to the above questions.(4)" (Ismael Bakhshi, 4 January 2019)
As he wrote the open letter, pressure was mounted on him to deny the torture.
"My client has been pressured to deny his allegations," Farzaneh Zilabi, Ismail Bakhshi's lawyer, told Event 24. Meanwhile, HRANA news agency wrote that "Mr. Bakhshi is contacted and threatened several times during the day.(5)" (7 January 2019)
But in the face of these pressures, the signs of class solidarity, albeit in small scales, presented to the public a magnificent manifestation of the potential of the working class to build a new society, and that the future belonged to those shuras (councils); Susan Razani, a member of the Sanandaj Women's Council and a labour activist who was also tortured, wrote an open letter of support to Ismail Bakhshi, a proud display of class unity from Kurdistan to Khuzestan. She wrote in her letter:
"… On February 20, 2008, when I was sentenced to 75 lashes in Sanandaj court for participating in the International Workers' Day, I knew that this was neither the beginning nor the end. The struggle against inequality and discrimination, and the pursuit of a decent human world, will continue till the complete annihilation of the capitalist system ... I shake your hand warmly, I stand beside you and shout with you, I was also tortured.(6)" (Susan Razani, 9 January 2019 )
Hereupon, Sepideh Qalyan and Asal Mohammadi announced that they were willing to testify about what they had heard and seen in the detention centre of the Ahwaz Intelligence Office.
== Continuation of workers' struggle and the regime's desperation
The regime being desperate and concerned about the escalation of workers’ support, in order to prevent it from spreading, raided the homes and workplaces of those who showed the slightest sign of solidarity.
Despite these threats and arrests, the workers of different sections of Haft Tapeh sugar plant, in wildcat strikes and other work stoppages, insisted on their demands and constantly demanded the release of Ali Nejati and other detainees. In the universities, with the slogan of "We are all Bakhshi", his revelations and the struggle of the workers of Haft Tapeh was supported by holding demonstrations and sit-ins. In one of the proclamations we read:
"... We have repeatedly chanted, "We are the children of the workers, we will stand by them," and today we, as ourselves the victims of "torture" and "imprisonment" for "Equality and Freedom," consider Ismail Bakhshi to be our comrade that we will always be on his side ... As we are united in resisting the waves of financialisation and privatisation, we are also united in enduring imprisonment and torture.(7)"
Supported from various social groups for Bakhshi kept coming in. One hundred teachers showed their support by signing the following statement. It should be noted that putting signatures on such declarations in Iran carries a great risk. However, in parts of this announcement we read:
"... After the violent arrest of justice seeker teacher, Mohammad Habibi, who was beaten and insulted, today we are witnessing the suffering of Ismail Bakhshi, who described the brutal torture during his detention in the Intelligence Detention Office ... _
We believe the words of Ismail Bakhshi and demand the punishment of the perpetrators of torture. … We, the union activists, who have witnessed these barbaric and extra-legal behaviours many times, testify to the truth of Mr. Ismail Bakhshi's words and call for an end to the violence and torture of all prisoners and the release of union and political prisoners.(8)"
== Malicious TV broadcasts, the regime's trick to divert public opinion
Concerned about its failure to intimidate workers and political activists on the one hand, and the growth of support for them on the other, the regime was forced to find solutions, and to pursue something which its disgraceful record is replete with, which means:
* Malicious TV broadcast of "Burnt Design" on the National Television
* Denial of torture by the regime
* Trapping labour activists in the maze of government bureaucracy
The reason for airing the "Burnt Design" documentary was primarily a reflection of the fact that the regime's first shot at intimidating worker activists had not worked. The arrest and torture of Ismail Bakhshi not only did not intimidate him, not only it did not deter the workers from their demands, but their courage and perseverance in forming their own shura (council) against the Islamic Shura, on the contrary had now become popular. In addition, Ismail Bakhshi, by publicising his own torture, had caused other victims of torture over the years to come forward so the issue of torture was publicly raised again. Therefore, in broadcasting "Burnt Design", the regime tried to counteract the effects of these revelations. but it failed miserably, as we wrote previously:
"Only a few days after this malicious TV broadcast, the regime got egg on his face. A crowd of retired education and civil servant protesters gathered in front of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare on the morning of Tuesday 2 February, shouting the slogan "Torture! Documentaries! They no Longer Have Any Effect!"(9)"
The regime's second ploy was to open "legal doors" to trap activists in the maze of the government apparatus. Motahhari, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, took the first step.
"Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, wrote in a note in the Etemad newspaper on Sunday, January 7, calling for the investigation into the "torture" of Ismail Bakhshi, a representative of the Haft Tapeh sugarcane workers, by Iranian intelligence agents and requested "a convincing response" from the Minister of Intelligence for this accusation that was made and he considered such a phenomenon, if this news is true, "a disgrace to the government of prudence and hope" ... _
Referring to Mr. Bakhshi's remarks about "severe physical and mental torture in prison, as well as the wiretapping of his cell phone and conversations with his wife" by Ministry of Intelligence officials ... he added: "Is it not a disgrace to have such a claim on the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution which in the third chapter of its constitution forbids any physical or mental torture to get a confession? Also, any eavesdropping is prohibited, except in special cases by law. "If Mr. Bakhshi's words are true, the perpetrators should be identified and punished as soon as possible."(10)" (6 January 2019)
Despite his outspoken gesture it only took a few days to retract and stutter this nonsense in an interview with Tasnim News Agency:
"Ismail Bakhshi claims that he was tortured, but the Ministry of Intelligence says that he clashed with the agents and that there was some kind of confrontation between them … Ismail Bakhshi did not provide any proof to the deputies in line with this claim, in general, the judiciary is obliged to make a final judgment."
== The same old song, the re-arresting of labour militants
The ineffectiveness of its tactics forced the regime to resort to arrest and intimidation once again. On 21 January 2019, Ismail Bakhshi was arrested again by plain cloth individuals. There were reports that a large number of armed forces, along with four patrol cars, stormed Ismail Bakhshi's home and detained him. Sepideh Qalyan, the social activist, was also arrested at her home at the same time. The three new charges were; spreading falsehoods, a national security offence and insulting the authorities. Instead of responding to Ismail Bakhshi's family, the prosecutor of Shush ordered the arrest of Ismail's mother! Instead of responding to Ismail Bakhshi's invitation to debate, the Minister of Intelligence accused him of spreading lies in filing his complaint!
From this date, that is from January to 1 May 2019, every day, the workers of Haft Tapeh, and their families, protested staging sit-ins in front of the factory, and the governor's office in Shush ... every day they made their demands and called for the release of those arrested. With the arrival of the New Year and the unprecedented floods, the pressure on workers and activists became even greater. As International Workers' Day approached, Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Syndicate, Pensioners Unity Group and Coordinating Committee To Help Workers' Organisations, in support of Ismail Bakhshi and other detainees, called for a rally in front of the parliament in Tehran on International Workers' Day. In this gathering, the protesters chanted “Bread, Freedom, are our divine right, Students Workers, Teachers unite”, and held up placards and photos, demanded the release of the detainees, Ismail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qalyan, among others. As always, security forces attacked the peaceful rally and arrested a large number of protesters.
The pressures mounted in various ways. An attempt was made to terminate Ismail Bakhshi's employment contract with the Haft Tapeh sugar factory. Farzaneh Zilabi, his lawyer, told Insaf News:
"While my client, Mr. Ismail Bakhshi, was detained on security and non-security charges as reported by his employer and the Ministry of Intelligence, the employer of the Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Cultivation and Industry Company recently intended to unilaterally terminate his employment contract. After strong protests by workers and the family's concern as well as objections from some officials, it has been postponed. In case of termination of my client's contract, I will take the necessary legal action. (11)" (8 July 2019)
The detainees' telephones and contact with their families were cut off. In the face of these pressures, the detainees bravely resisted. Sanaz Al-Hayari and Amir Hossein Mohammadifard, Sepideh Qalyan, went on a hunger strike. Sepideh Qalyan announced that she would go on a hunger strike until her trial was held because of the atrocities committed against her and her parents, and her continuous transfers from one prison to another. Just a week before the date of the court hearing, in order to put pressure and threats on detainees, Farzaneh Zilabi, the workers' lawyer, was summoned to the Public and Revolutionary Court of Ahwaz!
3 August 2019, was the day of the trial. The Haft Tapeh Syndicate rightly called it a trial of “Bread, Jobs and Freedom”, because this court was putting the demands of Iranian workers and toilers on trial.
== Trial of Bread, Work and Freedom
The significant presence of families and labour activists in front of the court in Tehran on the day of the trial, 3 August 2019, did not please the security forces, who tried to disperse them and prevent others from joining the rally, as a result of which 6 people were arrested by plain-clothes security men. The first session of the Haft Tapeh Workers' Court and the members of _Gam Magazine_ was held in the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Moghiseh. At first, the indictments of all the detainees were read. The men were then taken out of court. Ismail Bakhshi then went to court as the first defendant to defend himself. This illegal treatment was protested by Ismail and his lawyer. Judge Moghiseh did not even observe the legal minimums of the court and insulted Ismail Bakhshi's lawyer.
Judge Moghiseh's conduct showed that the trial was a mockery and that the verdict had already been handed down elsewhere. The trial showed that the judiciary is not only not an independent institution but also acts as a supportive arm for capitalism. Ismail Bakhshi, the representative of the Haft Tapeh workers, told the judge that:
"My red line is the Haft Tapeh workers and my lawyer, and any insult to the Haft Tapeh workers and my lawyer will be answered decisively."
In one of the questions and answers from Ismail Bakhshi, Judge Moghiseh told Bakhshi:
"The Slogan of Bread, Work, Freedom" is a communist slogan; Bakhshi told him that this was a slogan of livelihood and demands and defended the demands of the Haft Tapeh workers. In response to the defence of part of the slogan of the Haft Tapeh workers, Judge Moghiseh said: "The slogan of Bread, Jobs, Freedom is a slogan of above and below the abdomen.(12)"
Sepideh Qalyan trial was held on Saturday, 10 August. She stated that she was pressured and tortured during the interrogation and was forced to confess, so she does not accept the verdicts.
Her defence lawyer, Jamaluddin Heidari Manesh, stated that “All the accusations were based on the statements of my client, because my client confessed under torture.” He further said that “My client, as the child of a worker, considered it her right to defend other workers and their rights, and this is not a crime.” The lawyer was then threatened with arrest and all his belongings were confiscated!
Finally, after months of pressure and violence against Ismail Bakhshi and Mohammad Khanifar, Sepideh Qalyan, Amir Hossein Mohammadi Fard, Sanaz Allahyari, Amir Amir Gholi and Asal Mohammadi, in the "Revolutionary Court", with the judgement of Judge Moghiseh, officially issued this verdict:
* Ismail Bakhshi, worker: 14 years in prison
* Sepideh Qalyan, supporter of Haft Tapeh workers: 18 years in prison
* Amir Hossein Mohammadifard, Editor-in-Chief of _Gam Magazine_: 18 years in prison
* Asal Mohammadi, member of the editorial board of _Gam Magazine_: 18 years in prison
* Sanaz Al-Hayari, editorial member of _Gam Magazine_: 18 years in prison
* Amir Amirgholi, editorial member of _Gam Magazine_: 18 years in prison
* Mohammad Khanifar, Haft Tapeh worker: 6 years in prison
Sepideh Qalyan, on her Instagram page, described the incident as follows:
"In a short legal statement that determines our destiny and future, it is written that Sepideh Qalyan, Mohammad Khanifar, Amir Amir Gholi, Ismail Bakhshi, Amir Hossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Al-Hayari and Asal Mohammadi are members of anti-regime groups for propaganda activities and spreading lies. All were examples of conspiracy and collusion, and we were all sentenced to five years in prison just like that ... _
When I demanded the details of the verdicts from the secretary of the Revolutionary Court, they insulted me and told me that we are not telling you how many years of imprisonment you will get, so you do not get a chance to play the media game ... _
Given the non-transparent process, I do not see these rulings as legitimate, and I knew from the beginning that our temporary release was nothing more than a show for the authorities.(13)"
From Saturday, 7 September 2019, the full-time workers of Haft Tapeh in the industrial area of the company once again went on strike due to not receiving their July wages. On the fourth day of the gathering, 12 September 2019, coinciding after the release of the audio file which revealed the bribery of several members of the Islamic Labour Shura, workers protested against this blatant corruption. They demanded the dismissal and dissolution of the affiliated and bribe-taking organisation of the Islamic Labour Shura.
On September 8, the Judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency reported that the new head of the judiciary, Ibrahim Ra'isi, had issued an order regarding the recent rulings of the Revolutionary Court, to be reviewed and reconsidered fairly. This time, instead of the Parliament and its deputies, who once dragged the workers into the corridors of the government and administrative deadlock, now one of the officials who had been part of the "death commissions" in the executions of the early years of the revolution, was playing the role of "Good Cop" claiming that the verdicts should be fair!
On 11 September 2019, it was announced that the CEO and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company were in custody for billions of Tomans in bribes to several government managers and misuse of hundreds of millions of dollars of government money.
As the strike continued, 40 Haft Tapeh sugarcane workers were summoned to report to the Shush security intelligence police. Meanwhile with the presence of the high-ranking commanders of the city, the commander of the police force and the head of intelligence protection of Shush (Bahmani) and the head of the police force (Baharvand) in the Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company, along with the armed forces, threatened the workers. They told the workers that they should all return to work, otherwise they would be fired while filing a case.
On 7 October 2019, at a gathering of workers in the factory, the speaker for the meeting, Keramat Pam brought everyone’s attention to two issues.
First, he urged workers to keep supporting those who had been arrested at Khorramabad City by the security police when on their way to meet the social commission of Parliament. The content of his request shows that some workers had already opposed sending anyone to meet with the members of Parliament.
Second, he claimed that in his opinion, the request for ousting Asadbeigi, the owner of the plant, contradicts the demand for payment of arrears in wages. This, however brought objections from other workers in the meeting, who responded by saying that it makes no difference who is in charge of the factory, our demands are right and we must insist on them.(14) We have witnessed many such lively discussions in a general assembly in the last couple of years in many workplace, in particular Haft Tapeh, which is nothing but the reflection of the class struggle within the Syndicate or Shura. What is important is to move forward despite disagreement, which seems the militant workers of Haft Tapeh have done so well with admirable tactics without compromising their unity and integrity and also without falling into the trap of adventurous actions. We will get back to this issue when outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the movement at the end of this article.
With the strike entering its 28th day, the detainees, Sepideh Qalyan, Ismail Bakhshi and Asal Mohammadi, were released on bail within a week. However the strike continued, on Wednesday, 13 November 2019, more than a thousand Haft Tapeh sugarcane workers protested against the non-payment of their wages, as well as the lack of job security and for the return of their sacked colleagues.
On 16 November 2019, the unprecedented increase in the price of gasoline sparked the most widespread resistance to the regime in a decade. Demonstrators took to the streets spontaneously in many cities and towns.
"At first the demonstrations were peaceful but when the Revolutionary Guard attacked them with live fire from the air and on the ground, anger erupted. Unemployed youths attacked police cars, banks (owned by the Revolutionary Guards), religious and government buildings, many of them disdaining to even hide their faces, in show of defiance born of desperation. The number of dead was at least 300 but since the Revolutionary Guards gathered up the bodies to hide the extent of those deaths (and shutting down the internet stopped photos of the massacres being relayed) it may be more. Relatives who asked for the bodies were arrested and cemeteries where funerals were being held were also attacked by the regime’s thugs. Thousands more were arrested and are now facing daily torture in prisons throughout Iran.(15)"
The workers of Haft Tapeh, like the thousands of workers across Iran, participated in these demonstrations actively. The courageous presence of Sepideh Qalyan in the nationwide protests with photos, was reported in social media.(16)
On 6 December, it was announced that Ismail Bakhshi would return to work in Haft Tapeh. The union and other groups congratulated the Haft Tapeh workers on this success. Meanwhile, Ali Nehati, whose beating we mentioned above, a member of the Haft Tapeh Syndicate was sentenced by the Revolutionary Courts of Tehran to five years in prison on charges of conspiracy to act against national security through propaganda activities against the regime.
== The continuation of deceptions and rumours
On 20 February 2020, the official ILNA news agency published the following text announcing the support of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company workers for the parliament candidacy of Alireza Mahjoub and Soheila Jelodarzadeh. The text and its content are a clear proof of the depth of the conspiracy and deception of false friends. Furthermore its misuse and seizure as desired of the workers' previous meeting with the members of Parliament.
"... We have not forgotten that at the height of the events in Haft Tapeh, when no one could hear us, you were the only ones who invited our representatives to attend the parliament and gave us the opportunity to express our problems in the house of the nation. _
… while we were looking for channels to convey our message to the state authorities, these two dear representatives of the working class community read the text of our letter in the open court of the Parliament ... _
It goes without saying to expect that you could solve all the working class problems is a very irrational expectation, and in spite of all your loneliness ... _
Finally, we, a group of Haft Tapeh sugarcane workers ... declared our support to the only voice of Iranian workers in the Parliament, we invite all trade unions, the dear workers of Tehran province to keep the voice of the workers in the Parliament by voting for these two candidates.(17)"
The Syndicate of Haft Tapeh denied the news and announced that:
"ILNA news agency has published a text which falsely claimed "a group of Haft Tapeh workers" supported Alireza Mahjoub and Soheila Jelodarzadeh, as their parliamentary candidates, and said that these are the only voices of the workers in Parliament ... _
ILNA and the Workers' House are falsifying the news, and it is not clear which imaginary workers supported them. Declaring support for the election, surely does not lead to arrests, so why not publish the names of these workers? ...The declaration of support by the Haft Tapeh workers for these anti-working class individuals or any other candidate is a complete lie, and we hope that various media outlets will publish this letter in order to enlighten public opinion and prevent the misuse of the names of the Haft Tapeh workers.(18)"
Another example of these kind of malicious tactics was the attempt to re-establish the Islamic Shura by using the return of an ex-member of the Syndicate of Haft Tapeh Board. They wrote in this regard:
"Mr. Jalil Ahmadi was sentenced to prison in 1988 for his labour activities and was subsequently fired. But after nearly two years he returned to work with repeated follow-ups. We found out that Mr. Jalil Ahmadi voluntarily became a member of the Islamic Labour Council of his choice and is now working as its chairman!(19)"
== A new round of strikes and protests
After weeks and months of rallies, protests and strikes followed by trials and imprisonment ... and insisting their demands be met, as briefly described above, the workers went on a new round of strikes on 15 June, 2020, yet again to protest over the non-payment of their March wages, despite the distribution of pay slips. The other issue that was raised in this protest was renewal of health insurance booklets, which had been stopped and caused many problems for the workers and their families. In its list, there were demands for the expropriation of the privatised Haft Tapeh Company, the dismissal of pensioners who have been re-employed with salaries above 18 million to one hundred million Tomans, and as always, there was demand for Ismail Bakhshi, Mohammad Khanifar, Iman Akhzari and Salarbejni, to get their jobs back. Workers of all sections in the company, including, agriculture, factories, mec