On 16 September 2019, special security forces injured up to 20 workers and detained 40 more at HEPCO Industrial Complex in the city of Arak, 281 kilometres west of the capital city, Tehran.
HEPCO, which produces road construction equipment for Iran and other Middle Eastern countries and was founded before the Islamic Revolution, was privatised in 2017. Labour rights activists say that immediately following the privatisation, problems emerged for workers. The new owners started to delay wages and mismanage the complex. Workers had been protesting throughout September, and almost 900 workers were demonstrating on 16 September when the arrests were made.
The workers have repeatedly called upon the government to return HEPCO’s ownership to the public sector. Workers at many other privatised factories across the country have also joined their peers in Arak, insisting that their work conditions have worsened after the privatisation of their companies. Furthermore, the workforce has reportedly been reduced from 8,000 workers to 1,000
since privatisation. Protests continued on 22 September 2019. Approximately 30 of those arrested were released within two weeks; however, six workers remained in custody until 28 October 2019.
In another similar incident in Arak, 21 workers at AzarAb, which constructs power plants, petrochemical plants and sugar, gas and oil refineries, were arrested while protesting against privatisation.