Oil and Petrochemical Workers’ Strikes Expand Despite Firing of 700 Employees
Strikes by workers in Iran’s oil and petrochemical industries have expanded across various cities, and despite the firing of 700 workers from Tehran Refinery, the movement has grown even wider. Many workers from various industrial centers have joined the “1400 Campaign.”
Many workers from refineries and petrochemical industries joined the striking workers on the second day of Khordad, who have been protesting and striking over the past two days. The expansion of their movement across various Iranian cities starting Tuesday became one of the hottest news items on social networks.
However, alongside these protests, the suppression of workers has intensified. According to labor activists, on the previous day, with the strike of “overhaul” workers at Tehran Refinery, 700 of them were fired for this protest action. News reports and videos published on social networks show these workers saying they protested for their wages but were instead handed “settlement slips.”
Expansion of Protest Movements
The 1400 Campaign by workers is for demands that have been made by them for a long time without being heard: wage increases, vacation allowances, and increased holidays to 10 days per month, better health and safety conditions, which especially with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has put workers’ lives at greater risk.
Workers from many centers, including workers at Mahshahr Port of National Iranian South Oil Company, Asaluyeh workers, Damavand Petrochemical Project workers, Keyhan Pars workers in Isfahan, contract workers at Abadan Refinery, and Adis Refinery workers have joined this campaign.
In one of the videos, workers at Phase 13 power plant in Kangan can be seen leaving their workplace.
Source: DW
