On 15th October, workers at several gas refineries in Iran’s South Pars complex went on strike. This strike, as part of the “Protest Tuesdays,” entered its eleventh week. Workers held large gatherings demanding their unmet needs.
According to the report by the Council for Organizing Protests of Oil Contract Workers on Tuesday, October 15, contract workers at refineries 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 in the South Pars Gas Complex went on strike.
According to this report, these refinery workers “held large protest gatherings, pursuing their unmet demands.” These protests continue despite “obstructions by security forces, managers, and contractors.”
The main demands of the protesters include “the right to form labor unions and protest, the complete elimination of contractor middlemen, reinstatement of dismissed protesting workers, an end to security crackdowns on protesting workers, enforcement of prior agreements on vacation entitlements and camp pay, and the fair implementation of a 14-day work and 14-day rest cycle.”
According to Article 10 of the “Duties and Powers of the Ministry of Oil” law, which was passed by the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament) in April 2012, the administrative and employment system, as well as the pay and benefits of employees in the operational and specialized units of companies under the Ministry of Oil, are exempt from the National Civil Service Law. Instead, their system is prepared with the recommendation of the Ministry of Oil and the approval of the Vice President’s Office of Development and Human Resources.
The Council for Organizing Protests of Oil Contract Workers also reported that on Monday, official employees of the oil and gas industry “refused to issue work permits in operational areas of the refineries as a form of protest.”
The council, quoting protesting contract workers, reported that “in solidarity, we have stopped work, and even in the refineries where our protests have been blocked, work has completely halted.”
In the past weeks, on Mondays, employees in the oil-rich southern regions, oil platforms, and all sectors involved in the oil industry have gone on strike, and on Tuesdays, the strikes at various refineries in the South Pars Gas Complex and protests by official colleagues have continued.
The Council for Organizing Protests of Oil Contract Workers has announced that it supports and backs the protests and strikes “of all sectors working in the oil industry.”
