Privatization's destroying Iran's Industries

Iran in critical situation as it's economy collapses , One of Iran’s so-called international affairs analysts Siavash Fallahpour said: “The prelude to the Syrian war began with privatizations and rent-seeking. 

the  privatizations that in iran caused the increasing in poverty, the development of corruption and unemployment among many young Syrians, and foreign sanctions and the recession are exacerbating the situation.

The names of HEPCO and Haft Tappeh were intertwined even before the workers' protests in recent weeks. The two industrial giants were among dozens of factories that collapsed in recent years because of rent-seeking and non-transparent privatizations, which led to a sharp drop in factory output and the downsizing of many workers so that more than 1,000 workers at HEPCO and in the agroindustry of the Haft Tapeh, about 500 workers were laid off during the years the company was privatized.

This flawed trend has repeatedly pushed the two industrial giants to the brink of bankruptcy, and as a result, the workers' wages are paid several months late, an issue that has sparked protests and rallies from time to time, and halting privatization has become one of their main demands.

But in the meantime, the wounds of privatization have been inflicted on the bodies of many factories and workers in different provinces; factories that may be less well-known, but with these failed privatizations, thousands of workers have been laid off and factories closed completely.

In different provinces, there are more than 50 unsuccessful examples of privatization based on a reduction of about 50% in the productivity index and adjustment of manpower. The provinces of East Azerbaijan, Gilan, Fars, and Mazandaran are in a more difficult situation in terms of the number of factories and complete cessation of production.

Dena tires and thousands of unemployed workers

Dena Tire Factory used to be one of the largest industries in Shiraz; an industry that went through many financial and labor crises after repeated privatizations and divestitures.

Eventually, managerial incompetence, reduced production, and downsizing of the industrial unit led to rallies and union protests. Eventually, it culminated that the factory board members being barred by the workers from entering and taking over the factory in response to the dismissal of their representatives.

Prior to the privatization, more than 20,000 personnel and workers were indirectly employed in this factory and about 2,000 people were directly employed, who will be unemployed with the complete closure of this industrial unit.

Azmayesh, the factory that became an onion warehouse

Marvdasht Azmayesh factory in Fars province, whose products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and fans were once famous Iranian brands, was transferred to the private sector through the stock exchange in early 2009, and after that, due to various problems, production fell and the downsizing shifted from 1,400 workers to 160. Eventually, without necessary action by the authorities, this factory of the famous Iranian brand was closed down, until a short clip showed that the big hall of this factory has been turned into an onion warehouse.

Iranit and illegal sale of factory property

The Iranit factories in Tehran and Isfahan have a strange story in the privatization process. It is said that the officials of this company have sold some of the devices and infrastructures of the factory to the industrial debris contractors without holding a legal auction, while this company is a public joint-stock company and the sale of tastes of the factory property is prohibited by law.

The factory stopped its meager production in January 2016 and postponed the payment of workers' salaries every time. The Iranit factory was eventually shut down with the dismissal of all workers.

Privatization brought the polyacrylic giant to its knees

Isfahan Polyacrylic Company, which includes six factories, has been involved in several problems since 2009 due to improper privatization so that with the transfer of this company, four factories and some of its production lines were closed and a number of workers became unemployed and their salaries were postponed for several Month.

Also, a few days after the liquidation of the four companies, the executive board of Polyacrylic announced in a statement, emphasizing that there will be no new production for another three months, that if they (workers) want unemployment insurance on the night of Eid, they should say goodbye soon. Polyacrylic was one of the largest companies in the 90s, and its workers were relatively well off at the time.

Privatization’s scar on the body of Calcimin Company

Calcimin Company in Zanjan started its activity in the field of zinc concentrate. Calcimin is one of the factories that experienced a sharp decline in production after privatization, so that factory production fell from 100 tons to 20 tons. This trend indicates an 80% closure of production in this factory.

Calcimin also had about 1,200 employees before several transfers, 300 of whom were fired under the pretext of downsizing.p