Socioeconomic protests in Iran continue by various sections and classes, including strikes by workers in Abadan Petrochemical and Razi Petrochemical, temporary contract employees of the Ministry of Oil, and farmers in Parsabad.
According to social media reports, the employees and workers of Abadan Petrochemical went on strike on October 4, protesting officials’ failure to pay their delayed salaries and benefits.
On October 1st, they also gathered in front of the central office of Abadan Petrochemical Company, demanding “clarification from the CEO regarding bankruptcy” of this industrial unit.
According to a report by Aftab News on Monday, September 30th, Abadan Petrochemical Company has declared bankruptcy with a reported debt of “29,460 billion rials,” (approximately $60 million) which is approximately “three times its capital.”
Similarly, contract workers of Razi Petrochemical in the “Imam Khomeini Special Economic Zone” have been on strike since September 29th.
They are protesting their delayed payments and significant discrimination in the allocation of welfare benefits among official and contractual workers by the company.
Not only have the officials of Razi Company failed to addressed the demands of the striking workers, but they also employ various methods to put pressure on workers. For instance, they refrain from providing meals to the striking workers.
Temporary contract employees of the Ministry of Oil gathered in front of the Ahvaz Oil-Rich Regions Company and Iranian Offshore Oil Company and demanded a change in their contract status to “fixed-term.”
These protesters also demanded “empowerment and employment capability against non-essential organizational positions,” full implementation of the January 2023 Administrative and Employment Resolution of the Oil Industry regarding “special and specialized bonuses,” as well as the payment of “workers’ annual bonuses” and “buying back unused leave according to labor law.”
“Calculating overtime and productivity bonuses according to fixed-term personnel” and “granting educational bonuses to employees’ children” are among the other demands of this group of Ministry of Oil employees.
In recent days, some employees of Iranian Offshore Oil Company and Pars Oil and Gas Company have also held protest gatherings on oil platforms.
According to the Afkare Naft news website, they considered the determination of a “salary ceiling” as “equivalent to the destruction of the oil industry structure and the demotivation of human resources,” and demanded the “elimination of retirement bonus ceiling.”
According to another report, some farmers in Parsabad, Ardabil province, gathered in front of the Moghan Cultivation and Industry Company.
These farmers, while holding receipts for wheat seed payments, stated that despite receiving the funds, the company has not yet delivered the seeds to them.
The socioeconomic crisis in Iran continues, and a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) has admitted that the protests have not subsided. These protests are taking place against the backdrop of a tumultuous year of nationwide uprisings, with Iranians in hundreds of cities calling for the overthrow of the mullahs’ rule due to four decades of corruption, repression, and mismanagement.
