Iran’s oil, natural gas, and petrochemical workers continued their nationwide strikes for the 17th consecutive day on Monday, with tens of thousands of people in 20 cities taking part.
This came after many employees, who were still working on Sunday, joined the strike.
Around 200 workers from the Derakhshandeh contract company at the Parsian Mehr refinery in Mohr went on strike on Monday, closing half of the site as a result. While the Mahshahr branch of Tehran Jonoob Company has shut down entirely and the contractor has just five workers.
Other companies, desperate to get employees back to work, have met some of the demands. For example, the Payandan contracting company, which is working on Phase 14 of the South Pars natural gas initiative, has paid the much-delayed wages of the workers up until July, while the Javar contracting company agreed to increase wages by 20 million rials (about $87) for some workers, but they’ve also hired new workers to replace those on strike.
Of course, these are far from the only workers’ protests in Iran. Employees of the HEPCO company in Arak continued their protest at the company site; protesting job uncertainty, dire livelihood conditions, and hollow promises from officials about having their delayed wages paid.
Workers at the Mir Hosseini Pumping Station at the “Zolal Iran Company” gathered to protest having not received their wages or insurance premiums for several months. They said that this has created problems for their families, with many unable to make rent or buy the necessities.
The staff at the Safireh waste site in Ahvaz have been protesting outside the municipality building for a week over the status of their jobs, low wages, and have not received their wages since March.
One worker said that they face paycheck delays every year when the contractor is changed and that, by law, their wages should have been increased to 25 million rials, even though the contractor says that he can only pay 20 million rials ($109).
Employees at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company in Shush continued their protest rally for the 64th consecutive day on Monday, this time outside the local governorate. They are demanding:
Payment of delayed wages
Resolving of their employment status issues
Finalisation of the company’s status quo
Return to work for fired employees
Renewal of expired medical booklets
Prevention of further plundering of the company under the guise of privatization
Source » irannewsupdate