Several labor-focused media outlets have criticized the extremely harsh conditions faced by workers in Iran’s oil industry amid soaring temperatures and have warned that their lives are at risk.
Oil industry workers are operating in extreme heat of 60°C (140°F) under critical water and electricity shortages and without any facilities or support, while contractors are failing to pay their wages and benefits.
A recent video showing a heat-stricken worker at the Kangan Petrochemical Complex has sparked strong criticism of the dangerous working conditions in the South Pars sites and other operational oil zones.
In the video, a worker says, “This hell is the story of our lives,” describing the dire and hazardous working conditions under extreme heat and warning that workers’ lives are in danger.
He added: “According to the law, work must stop when temperatures exceed 50°C, but we are forced to continue working in this scorching heat without any cooling facilities or proper sanitary and living accommodations.”
One worker addressed the authorities of Iran’s regime, saying the heat is threatening workers’ lives, yet no official cares about them.
Workers are demanding a halt to work under these critical conditions with full pay, the provision of standard facilities for dormitories, the dismissal of negligent contractors, and attention to their livelihood and welfare rights.
Widespread heatwave enters Iran
Sadegh Ziaian, head of the National Center for Forecasting and Crisis Management at the Meteorological Organization of Iran, stated on Thursday, August 7, in an interview with the state-run Mehr News Agency, that with a widespread heatwave entering Iran in the coming days, temperatures in some southern cities will rise to 50°C (122°F).
According to Ziaian, over the next three days, the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Kerman, and parts of Hormozgan will experience rising temperatures along with wind and dust storms.
The report states that the weather across most parts of the country will be hot, with an upward trend in temperatures.
Meanwhile, Mohsen Farhadi, head of the Occupational Health Center at the Ministry of Health, warned about the dangers of direct sunlight exposure, stating that ultraviolet rays cause serious harm, especially to children.
Skin cancers and eye diseases are among the common consequences of exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun.
Warning over heatstroke among corporate workers in Asaluyeh
Previously, on July 29, labor activist Maziar Gilani-Nejad, who closely follows the conditions of oil and gas project workers, told the state-run ILNA news agency that heatstroke and food poisoning are the two main causes of illness among project workers in Asaluyeh and other hot regions during the summer.
Gilani-Nejad stated, “In recent days, as the heat in Asaluyeh has reached over 50 or even 60°C (122–140°F), many workers have suffered from heatstroke.” He added, “Although we do not have exact figures, dozens of workers are being sent daily to the clinics in Kangan and Asaluyeh due to heat-related illnesses.”
He further said: “Fainting from heatstroke during work is a daily occurrence in various projects. Humidity and temperatures sometimes reaching 60°C or more are putting all project workers—whether permanent, contract-based, or third-party employees—at risk of numerous diseases and hazards.”
According to this labor activist, during the days when workers in Asaluyeh and Khuzestan protest against working in extreme heat, many contractors, indifferent to the horrific weather conditions, force workers to continue without any shade, proper ventilation, or even rehydration drinks—and they take pride in this mistreatment.
