Following the privatisation of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industrial Complex in 2015, workers and the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Cane Sugar Company (SWHTCSC) organised a number of strikes in Shush, Khuzestan south Iran, against the continuous unpaid wages of employees and the alleged corruption of the former owners. Many workers and activists have been arrested in relation to the protests over the years. In some cases, rights groups report of alleged torture and ill-treatment in detention.