On the morning of 7 April the sacked workers of the Sadra shipbuilding yard again gathered in front of the Bushehr governor's office - as they have done for several consecutive days. Their gathering was calm and peaceful.
The majority of the workers have worked for Sadra for over seven or eight years but, because the shipbuilding - especially the building of platforms - has been turned over to contractors, the contracts of around 400 workers have not been renewed. The contractors have brought in new and cheaper workers.
This morning's gathering began with around 100 workers present but within less than an hour, and the governor's refusal to respond to workers' demands, the riot police went into action by attacking the workers. As well as injuring four or five workers they severely beat and harmed the wife of one of the workers (who was resisting her husband's arrest).
Following this attack the workers remaining in the area dispersed down into Imam Khomeini square and street for an hour. The security forces were widely photographing those present in the area.
Around 12 noon, when the riot police were not present, around 40 or 50 workers again gathered outside the door of the governor's office and began demanding that he addresses and resolves their problems.
This report was made at 12:30 on Monday 7 April 2008 by a correspondent of Militaant, Journal of revolutionary socialist youth in Iran.
Translator's note: the workers' demands included payment of unpaid wages. The Sadra workers have gone on strike many times over the past two years, including in January 2007. (see http://www.iwsn.org/labour/sadra-strike1.htm).