Another Worker Commits Suicide In Iran Due To Economic Hardship

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported on Monday that Mohammad Mansouri, a 32-year-old father of two, hanged himself in his home in the western province of Ilam on Sunday, August 7.

The report said that "livelihood problems" were the reason behind his death and that he had been working at Chovar petrochemical company for several years before he was fired a few months ago.

Workers of petroleum and petrochemical companies are especially vulnerable due to their hard working conditions and low wages.

A union for contract workers of the oil sector announced on Saturday that 35 workers of Abadan refinery in southern Iran passed out due to the heat, and were taken to hospital. Despite the temperature rising to more than 50 degrees Celsius – about 122 in Fahrenheit scale – in the southern parts of the country, where most of the oil and gas plants are located, subcontractors for the government refuse to stop work even for a few hours.

The incidents occurred less than a week after an Iranian war veteran injured during the eight-year conflict with Iraq died after setting himself on fire due to financial hardship in the Kurdish-majority city of Sonqor in Western Iran. According to reports, it was the ninth case of self-immolation due to livelihood problems and vocational issues in the past 70 days.