TEHRAN, July 16
(Reuters) - Iranian police fired into the air and used tear-gas to
disperse thousands of workers demonstrating against changes in the
labour law on Tuesday, witnesses said.
Around 15,000 workers had gathered in front of Tehran's social
security department to protest against poor working conditions and
low pay and to demand the repeal of changes to the labour law that
make sackings easier.
Unemployed and unpaid workers have been taking to the streets
frequently as President Mohammad Khatami's government struggles to
liberalise the heavily state-run economy and encourage domestic
and foreign private investment.
Unemployment stands at 16 percent, or 3.2 million people. The
government needs to create around 700,000 new jobs a year for
young Iranians entering the work force just to keep the
unemployment rate stable.
"Police suddenly started to attack the demonstrators with
wooden sticks and some workers and police were wounded," a witness
told Reuters. Police later fired tear-gas and pistols to disperse
the crowd, he said.
"Capitalists -- leave the labour law alone," the workers had
chanted. Some also burned pictures of the head of the social
security department and chanted "We are former soldiers, now we
are the hungry."
The present labour law makes it nearly impossible to fire
workers and imposes a wide range of benefits, including mandatory
bonuses and generous severance payments.
The changes allow companies to give employees temporary
contracts, making it easier to dismiss them.
"This is alarming and dangerous. Workers fear for their
future," the leftist newspaper Kar ve Kargar quoted union leader
Alireza Mahjoub as saying.
