A message of sympathy from the Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Workers’ Union to the families and survivors of this great tragedy.
On Monday, September 3, 2023, an explosion occurred in the Alborz Eastern Coal Mine in Damghan due to the accumulation of gas, resulting in the death of 6 miners at a depth of 700 meters underground.
According to official medical statistics in Iran, in the past year, 1,900 workers have lost their lives in workplace accidents. Although these statistics may not be entirely reliable, they still demonstrate that the work environment has become a slaughterhouse for workers.
The mentioned statistics only account for the workers who annually lose their lives in workplace accidents. In these statistics, there is no official information about worker suicides or the tens of thousands of workers who contract various illnesses in the workplace or suffer physical disabilities during work and commuting to the workplace.
But what is referred to as workplace accidents in Iran is a form of sycophantic service by the defenders of the capitalist system to the owners of money, wealth and power in Iran.
When workplace accidents make sense, it is when all safety measures and equipment for the preservation of the lives and well-being of workers are present in the workplace. However, upon reviewing the statistics and taking a look at production facilities, it becomes evident that what is referred to as “workplace accidents” in Iran is an obvious falsehood.
When examining official statistics, it resembles more of a mass murder of workers than workplace accidents. Capitalists put workers’ lives at risk for greater profits and are unwilling to provide facilities, equipment, and workplace safety measures in production centres.
The Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Workers’ Union extends its condolences to the families of these dear ones in this way.
We must not forget that the wealthy, those with money and power in Iran, are the cause of the mass murder of workers, and we should not be indifferent to such crimes under the title of workplace accidents.
The employers and capitalists should be prosecuted for the mass murder of workers, and simultaneously, we demand a completely safe environment, equipped with modern facilities and international standards in the workplace, to prevent further mass killings of workers.
We honour the memory of the workers who have lost their lives.
