CODIR calls for urgent support for workers in Iran’s oil industry as they mark the twelfth week of industrial action in pursuit of their basic rights.

According to a report by Syndicate Messenger, a publication produced by the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics of Iran (UMMI); following a call to action from contract workers stationed in the South Pars oilfields (Khuzestan province, southwestern Iran) and the declaration of 1 November as a day of general protest owing to unfulfilled government promises, workers at refineries 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 in South Pars, as well as the Parsian Refinery in Fars Province, staged a coordinated one-hour protest from 9 a.m. (local time) bringing the vital sector to a standstill. It was the twelfth such weekly protest involving around 1,000 Iranian oil workers.

Their demands include: the reinstatement of Mr. Hojjat Rezaei, the workers’ representative dismissed from his post; the implementation of previous agreements regarding annual leave and camp allowances; the fair implementation of the job classification scheme for all contract workers; changes to the commuting conditions and wages of rental drivers, as well as the implementation of a classification scheme for non-owner drivers; and the unbiased implementation of a 14:14-day work-rest shift pattern for administrative and support staff.

Furthermore, workers covering official employees, third-party personnel, and contract workers in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries employed by companies such as Offshore Oil Company in Lavan, Kharg, and Siri operational areas; Pars Oil and Gas in 40 POGC platforms; South Pars Gas Refineries; POGC; SPGC; Fajar Refinery; Petrochemical Research and Technology Centre in Mahshahr; Headquarters for Claiming Rights in Southern Oil-Rich Regions in Ahvaz; and Gachsaran Oil, have also gone on strike, demanding the implementation of their legal rights, namely:

• removal of unjust salary deductions
• full payment of retirement benefits
• return of moneys previously deducted through excessive tax
• full implementation of the provisions of Article 10 
• according payment of back pay relating to Article 10
• payment of the difference in retirement deductions resulting from the implementation of Article 10, and… 
• payment of amounts that were illegally deducted as an excess of the ceiling imposed by the former Minister of Petroleum in the years 1995 to 1997, along with late payment interest.

Oil company managers, executives, and government officials are all too aware of these protests, but have so far refused to heed the legitimate demands of the oil workers. These managers’ default responses are to bully, intimidate, and disregard the workers, as this is all they know and have been taught… Not only do they often lack the requisite qualifications for their position, they are also seemingly disposed towards the antagonising and exacerbation of workers’ grievances and, against the current current political backdrop, of further fuelling their discontent.

Workers want the labour code and law to be properly upheld and enforced… No more, no less!

Unfortunately, management seem intent on flouting the rules and regulations as well as ignoring the legitimate and righteous demands of workers. No one but the enemy and the mafia entrenched in Iran’s oil industry stands to benefit from the non-address and furthering of this discontent.

Workers are demanding their legal rights in accordance with Article 27 of Iran’s Constitution… Justice and redress is the right of all workers!

Office

Central Executive Council