The grand celebration of Workers’ Week in Kermanshah and International Workers’ Day on May 1st was held with the presence of Dr. Sahraei, the Governor of Kermanshah, Engineer Shokri, the head of the province’s Industry, Mining, and Trade House, and the head of the Employers’ Association of the province. It took place at the Business and Technology Center of Bisotoun Industrial City. According to the public relations of Shokri Group, Engineer Shokri congratulated Workers’ Week and mentioned the change from International Workers’ Day to Workers’ Week after the revolution. He emphasized the need to address the existing problems in the province to ensure sustainable employment. During the ceremony, Jahanbakhsh Shokri highlighted the major challenge facing the industry in Kermanshah as the unstable electricity supply. He stated that the province produces about 2,000 megawatts of electricity, of which 160 megawatts are consumed by the industrial sector. However, due to agricultural and household consumption, this amount drops to 900 megawatts, and the remaining 1,100 megawatts are exported from the province. He urged the Governor to minimize the power cuts for industrial purposes in Kermanshah, despite its classification as a developed city and not among the industrial provinces, to ensure the local industry can operate efficiently, produce goods, and provide employment opportunities. 
Shokri stated: “If we gather statistics on the workforce in the province, we would realize that workers are willing to endure power cuts at their homes, but industrial electricity supply should not be interrupted so they can work. Additionally, as winter approaches, we also face gas shortages, which lead to the closure of our units and create problems for the working community, affecting the economic and livelihood conditions of workers.”
Regarding state-directed pricing of production, Shokri emphasized: “Given that we know workers’ wages are very low, putting pressure on the labor community, the government can provide subsidies to producers so they can increase workers’ wages.” He highlighted another challenge for industrial units as reduced capital circulation due to inflation, noting: “Last year, a production unit could operate with 10 billion Tomans per month, whereas this year, this amount has increased by 40 to 50 percent. However, the province’s bank limit is no more than 15 billion Tomans, making it difficult for producers to obtain approval and access circulating capital.”
Shokri expressed hope that this issue would be addressed, suggesting that at least the bank limits in provinces like Esfahan, Yazd, or a branch from Tehran should be increased. He referred to employers and workers as frontline soldiers in the economic battlefield, stating: “I always say employers are also workers with greater responsibility, but today, we embrace the hands of all workers, hoping to achieve quality production and steer our country away from any dependencies.” At the ceremony attended by the Governor and other officials, exemplary workers from Jahan Foulad Gharb were honored.
