Hafte Tapeh reed cutters entered their second day of a strike by sitting in the plantations and refusing to work until management addresses their demands.
ILNA reports that the workers get 10 million rials for the six months that they are employed and since they are laid off the other six months of the year, they cannot afford their household expenses.
The workers are separated from their families and live in camps during the six-month work period and have to travel back and forth to their hometown every two weeks, which in itself is a heavy financial burden.
The workers also say the camps have limited facilities and the workers spend much of their pay to make up for the deficiencies.
Under Islamic Republic’s employment law, workers do not actually have the right to strike; however, there is some provision for “willful reduction of production” by workers.
