Date: 08 Mar 2000
Time: 07:35:38
Remote Name: 156.29.145.175
03/08/2000 BBC Worldwide Monitoring Source: IRNA news agency, Tehran, in English 0803 gmt 8 Mar 00/BBC Worldwide Monitoring/(c) BBC
Text of report in English by the Iranian news agency IRNA
Tehran, 8th March: Hundreds of workers of production units from all over the country gathered in front of the Majlis Wednesday [8th March] morning in protest of a bill, recently passed, which deprives workshops with less than five employees access to facilities provided by the labour law for six years. The workers, both males and females, carried placards calling for the bill's scrapping. The protesters believe the bill intends to rob them of their job security and that it is against the labour law and the country's Islamic system. They also demanded that a Majlis representative be made to answer their questions pertinent to the bill. The bill, approved by Majlis on 7th February, excludes workshops with less than five employees from the list of those entitled to receive facilities under the labour law for a period of six years.