On Monday, August 4th, Petrochemical workers of Kangan, Parsian, Sepehr Lamerd and Exir companies in phase 13 of the South Pars gas field, stopped work for the third day in a row and gathered at their workplaces.
More than 10,000 workers are said to have lost their jobs at refineries across Iran. On the same day, Petropalayesh workers in the South Pars Energy Special Economic Zone joined the strike. The protesters are demanding job security, revoking blank-sheet contracts, the payment of wage arrears, as well as a pay rise.
Previous oil and petrochemical strikes have included:
Qeshm Heavy Oil Refinery workers strike
On Saturday, August 1st, the workers of Qeshm Heavy Oil Refinery stopped work in protest at non-payment of their wages.
According to workers at the Qeshm Heavy Oil Refinery, in addition to not paying their five-month arrears, they are not covered by labour law under the pretext of working in the Qeshm Free Zone, where employers have more power to limit workers’ wages and benefits.
Strike and gathering of Abadan refinery workers
Workers of the Abadan refinery stopped working on Saturday, August 1st, to protest the non-payment of their wages and benefits, and gathered at the refinery.
The workers, who are demanding payment of 5 to 6 months of wages and other arrears, chanted slogans demanding the full implementation of the job classification scheme and against the non-implementation of legal labour regulations for contract workers.
Protest and strike of Lamerd refinery workers
Workers at the Lamerd refinery went on strike on Saturday, August 1st, to protest delays in paying their wage arrears.
The workers of Lamerd refinery in Fars province have been to the refinery’s office several times to get their four months’ wage arrears and had announced that they will go on strike if their wages were not paid. They said they intend to continue the strike until all their demands are met.
Parsian refinery workers strike
A group of protesting workers at the Parsian refinery went on strike on Saturday, August 1st, at 7:00 AM to protest against lack of job security and non-payment of wages.
The protesting workers say that four years ago, in order to implement the government decree, before the contract, they became a contractor, but since then, the status of payment of some of their wage benefits has remained unknown. The protesting workers added: “While the employment contracts are all based on a bachelor’s degree or higher and the bad weather conditions at the workshop, these benefits have not been taken into account so far.”
Continuation of the strike of workers of phases 22 and 24 of Kangan South Pars refinery
On Sunday, August 2nd, workers in phases 22 and 24 of the Kangan South Pars refinery went on strike for the second day in a row.
The protesting workers, like their other colleagues in the country’s refineries, went on strike on Saturday, August 1st, to protest the non-payment of arrears for several months, the uncertainty of their job status, and the non-implementation of the job classification plan.
Pars Phenol Petrochemical Workers Strike Begins
Workers and employees of Pars Phenol Petrochemical in Assaluyeh joined the strike of their colleagues in other petrochemicals on Sunday, August 2nd.
The workers, like their colleagues at the Qeshm, Abadan, Lamerd, Parsian and Kangan refineries, who have been on strike since Saturday, are demanding job security, revoking blank-sheet contracts, payment of wages arrears and an increase in their wages.
Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign
3 August 2020
Source: Various news agencies
Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign 