Oil staff’ strike spreads throughout Iran; unions enchantment for worldwide solidarity – Folks’s World

An oil worker in a refinery in Tehran, Iran. Thousands of workers in Iran’s vast energy industry have gone on strike to demand better wages and working conditions in the oil plants. | Vahid Salemi / AP

Iranian oil and petrochemical workers resigned on June 19, and their strike has now spread to numerous locations in the vast oil and gas exploration fields and the oil industry in general.

At least 28,000 workers have laid down their tools and are determined to stay outside until their demands are met, according to a statement released by the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics of Iran (UMMI). The strike is proving to be a test of solidarity between full-time and contract workers.

One of the central demands of UMMI is that wages must be paid monthly and immediately. Workers in the industry face unpredictable salary plans or sometimes the prospect of not getting paid at all.

In response to a call to set out the main goals and demands of the oil industry workers and contract workers in the recent strikes, UMMI National Secretary Maziyar Gilani-Nejad clearly stated that workers’ demands are within those set out in Iran’s labor law There are limitations, which in any case gives employers enormous advantages.

“The labor law, for example, stipulates that the employer must pay a worker’s wages on a daily, weekly or monthly basis,” says Gilani-Nejad. “Nowhere does it say that the employer can postpone the employee’s wages by three months plus or suddenly disappear if he has not made a payment.

“In such cases, workers and their representatives have tried everything from direct correspondence to requests to meet with their respective parliamentary representatives, but to no avail.”

The current strike action was mainly initiated by the project and contract workers. However, Gilani-Nejad was aware of the need for permanent support from the oil, gas and petrochemical companies.

Gilani-Nejad pointed out that full-time employees of the oil company also got low wages and protested several times since the beginning of the year to support the coordination between them and the project staff. Full-time workers announced their intention to join the strike on June 30.

“The working conditions and vacation regulations of the workforce are also central demands in the current struggle,” said Gilani-Nejad, “with strikers demanding that employers be obliged to implement the justified demand for a standard rotation of 20 working days on site, followed by 10 days accordingly paid vacation.”

In addition, the strikers are demanding that insurance premiums be based on the actual job titles and not capped at the level of an unskilled worker, as was previously the case.

Gilani-Nejad also pointed out that workers demand payment of bonuses, social benefits, transportation costs and child support; correct air conditioning; an end to substandard and repetitive meals; and an improvement in hygiene and sanitary facilities in the dormitories.

“Contractors require employers to provide first class air-conditioned minibuses, but transport workers in WWII-type minibuses. The conditions are inhuman with temperatures of 55 ° C (130 ° F) in the province of Chuzestan. “

When the UMMI announced that employers should raise salaries by 40% in line with Labor Department guidelines, workers were faced with layoffs and insults targeting the campaign and the union. The current strike action is the result of this failure to comply with agreements previously made by employers.

The UMMI argues that the right to peaceful protest against violations of workers’ rights, recognized in all international laws, is also included in the constitution and labor law of Iran. UMMI hopes that such civil protests will convince the government to find a reasonable and effective way to respond to workers’ demands. Gilani-Nejad stressed that they must react positively and in accordance with the respective ILO conventions on trade union structures and workers’ rights.

The situation of workers in Iran is exacerbated by the government’s failure to recognize independent trade unions, which makes it difficult for trade unions to organize.

In addition, employers regularly assign project work through so-called “labor brokers” who relieve the oil company and delegate it to smaller companies. This subcontracting essentially breaks or obscures the direct line of accountability between employer and employee.

As Gilani-Nejad clarifies, “It is a common practice of the oil companies and the Ministry of Labor to give part of the workers’ wages to recruitment agencies who do nothing for the project, skim off part of the payment, and then delegate the work, and thus the workers take what is rightfully theirs. “

In order to reduce the parasitic role of employment agencies, UMMI requires that the employee in question be given a copy of the employment contract on official letterhead, signed and sealed. This would make the relationship clearer and the rights and obligations of the employer under the law more transparent.

Regarding the recent elections in Iran, in which hardliner Ebrahim Raisi was elected president, Gilani-Nejad is not optimistic that it will be of any use to Iranian workers.

“As governments come and go, workers have learned to pay more attention to the actions of officials than to campaign promises.”

Gilani-Nejad drew attention to Raisi’s statement: “The economy should be left to the private sector. Anything that is holding back the private sector must be eliminated. “

“These words can serve to encourage people in the private sector,” said Gilani-Nejad. “However, the workers in the country are demanding that the government take its first steps to address the catastrophic living and working conditions of the working population.

“They immediately call for fundamental steps to be taken to address the consequences of privatization and endemic corruption, as well as the need to fill the country’s industrial production capacities.”

It is clear that the UMMI Secretary General sees an important role for international support in the current dispute and in relation to the situation of workers in Iran in general.

“By joining forces with us and responding to our legitimate demands, unions can send a clear and unmistakable message that solidarity at regional, national and international levels can lead the authorities to see that they are paying workers their rightful fees have to.

“It is a fact that such solidarity is only natural and has a major impact on the motivation of workers to insist on the realization of their legal rights.”

This action, this solidarity and the campaign to highlight the struggle of the Iranian people for peace, democracy and social justice will continue beyond the current dispute until these goals are achieved.

EMPLOYEE