Hundreds of oil workers marched to the offices of the Gachasaran Oil and Gas Exploitation Company in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province Nov. 24. They demanded the right to unionize, protest and “organize freely without retaliation.” They also called for the end of the contract system “that exploits labor.”
Their slogans included “unity against poverty and corruption,” “contract oil workers’ rights are our rights,” and “stop the war-mongering; our tables are empty.” The action took place amid growing opposition to aggression against Israel by Tehran and its so-called axis of resistance.
Two days later, thousands of contract oil workers from 12 refineries and their families rallied in front of the South Pars Gas Complex in Bushehr Province, above, chanting, “Fair pay is our inalienable right.” According to the Organizing Council for Oil Contract Workers Protests, “after 16 weeks of protests and the government’s indifference to the workers’ demands, the workers decided to intensify the protests and hold a unified and coordinated rally.”
Both actions demanded the reinstatement of workers fired for earlier protests and “the correct implementation” of job classifications, which would mean pay hikes. They want contract workers to be made permanent company employees. They also demand a fixed work schedule of 14 days of work, followed by 14 days off. Many oil production sites are hours from the nearest town and workers spend weeks away from their families.
The actions take place as Iran’s oil sales are well below capacity because of U.S.-led sanctions, and from a drop in demand for Iranian oil from China, and inadequate investment and maintenance. “This imbalance trend,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview, “has arrived at a crisis.”