More than 200 coal miners from the Sangrood Mine in Gilan province in northern Iran held a two-day protest in Tehran February 13-14 in front of the office of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to the Iranian Labor News Agency. The state-owned mine, which employed 618 miners, was reportedly taken over by a private company two months ago. The workers have not been paid for 14 months. The miners returned home after being promised a back pay settlement of nearly $1 million. Ataollah Hakimi, a member of parliament from Gilan province, told the miners he would forgo performing his duties if the agreement was not implemented. “This mine is vital to the economic development of the depressed region of Roodbar” in Gilan, he said. “It is important to pay the workers so production can resume under government supervision.”

—PAUL PEDERSON  
 
 
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