Report: Iran arrests 4 workers protesting unpaid salaries

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency is reporting that the country’s authorities have detained four workers protesting not having been paid their salaries for months in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

The Sunday report says that in recent days many people have attended the demonstrations at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Mill in solidarity with striking workers there.

IRNA quotes Khuzestan governor, Gholamreza Shariati as saying, “workers have rights, we are looking into their issues and demands.”

The factory is about half a century old and began seeing labour problems when it was privatized almost 10 years ago.

Iran is in the grip of an economic crisis and has seen sporadic protests in recent months as officials have tried to downplay the effects of the U.S.’s restored sanctions.