The workers of different sectors of Iran’s oil industry are still on strike and protest. A new round of protests by third-pillar workers has begun. According to the news published by the Organizing Council of Unofficial Workers’ Protests (third pillars), today, January 21, the workers of the third pillar of Gachsaran oil and gas, stopped working and gathered and protested in front of the management building of this complex. The main demands of these workers are: complete removal of contract agencies, revision, modification and full implementation of the job classification plan, allocation of oil-gas card and bank card, safe working conditions and welfare conditions and benefits suitable for workers’ jobs.
In this day’s protest rally, the workers of the oil and gas third pillars of Gachsaran in front of the management of the complex announced their demands and stressed that they will continue their protest and rallies until they receive an answer.
The demands of the third pillar workers are nationwide and include thousands of workers. On January 20, these workers gathered and protested with the same demands in the first, third, fifth to tenth and twelfth refineries of South Pars. Before that, on January 15, a large gathering was held by a large number of third-pillar workers working in the southern oil-rich areas in Ahvaz. These workers, in solidarity with the formal workers working in South Pars refineries, announced that they will hold weekly protests.
While publishing this news and announcing its full support for these protests, the organizing council of informal oil workers’ protests has emphasized the weekly gatherings of third-pillar workers in all oil fields to pursue their demands.
Yesterday, the contract workers of the southern oil-rich regions also gathered. The removal of the contractors who have put a lot of pressure on the workers for years, and the direct contract with the oil and gas company is the demand of tens of thousands of oil workers.
These protests, along with more than three months of protests by official workers working in the oil industry, show the atmosphere of labor inflammation in this key center and play an important role in laying the groundwork for nationwide labor strikes at the community level and advancing popular struggles. Oil protests should be widely supported.