The following is a statement by the Khuzestan Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell about the Petronad petrochemical workers’ protests in Mahshahr (in Khuzestan province, south-western Iran). It was published in the KVSWC’s Telegram channel.
Sunday, May 17, 2026: the gathering of sacked Petronad workers outside Mahshahr’s Governor’s Office continues. We’ve protested for 20 days but have received no response!
According to the workers: since the early hours of the morning, we have been protesting against the dismissal of 200 workers from this complex, but the Governor’s Office has not given us a response. Not even one official has come out to ask what our demands are!
For the past 20 days, we have been protesting against 200 workers getting fired. Yesterday we also gathered in front of the Prosecutor’s Office and government authorities, but we still did not get a response.
One of the sacked workers said: We worked in the Petronad complex for years, which produces petrochemicals for pharmaceuticals and some other industries. It was planned that the complex will recruit personnel for its various phases from the beginning of the year [March 21st], and we’ll start working. After the New Year holidays [April], work began in this complex, but at the same time, over 200 local residents were dismissed from the complex and apparently non-local workers were recruited.
Khuzestan Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell
17 May 2026
Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign 