Hundreds of Contract Workers from the Ministry of Oil Gathered in Front of the Presidential Office

Hundreds of contract workers from the third-party entities of the Ministry of Oil gathered on Saturday, July 8, in front of the Presidential Office in Tehran to protest the non-removal of contracting companies. According to the Telegram channel of the third-party entities of the Ministry of Oil, about 600 protesters stated that their main demand was the elimination of these companies and the signing of direct oil contracts. They also called for a fair wage payment system, structural reform of the job classification plan, and access to welfare and social facilities of the Ministry of Oil. They chanted: 'Raisi, Raisi - fulfill your promises.' The ILNA news agency reported that nearly 105,000 individuals work as contractors (both volumetric and non-volumetric third parties) in state-owned companies under the Ministry of Oil, including gas, oil, drilling, refining, and distribution of oil products, all demanding the exit of contracting companies and direct contracts with the Ministry of Oil. They criticized the government's performance in meeting the demands of contract workers in the oil industry, stating that the issue of removing contractors from the oil industry has been raised by the government for several years, especially during the President's provincial trips to oil-rich regions, but no action has been taken to fulfill this demand. According to the Telegram channel of the third-party entities of the Ministry of Oil, Ebrahim Raisi promised to eliminate contracting companies to workers during International Workers' Day celebrations on May 1 in 2022 and 2023. The protesting workers pointed out that resolving the issues of contract workers would significantly alleviate many problems in the oil labor sector, stating: 'For years we, the third-party workers, have been working under the responsibility of intermediary companies that, under the pretext of providing manpower, play no role in delivering services.' Based on this report, the third-party workers urged Ebrahim Raisi to 'seriously pursue the issue of eliminating manpower contracting companies and save thousands of skilled workers from uncertainty and an unclear job future.' This is the latest protest in Iran's energy sector. In recent years, many protests have been held by workers and employees in various sectors of the Ministry of Oil. Following these protests, some of the demands of the protesters have been met. Continued arrests of activists in the South Pars oil workers' strike; Rouzbeh Boulaheri reports the issuance of a ruling by the Administrative Justice Court in favor of the government, rejecting workers' complaints against wage decrees. The Secretary-General of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce reported an increase in labor migration to Iraq. The livelihood crisis; a family with two employed members still below the poverty line of 30 million. Is the government issuing directives in favor of contractors? The cooperation of government agencies to maintain the contracting system. Strikes by workers in Kalibar and Bandar Abbas; gatherings of employees of the oil and gas exploitation company in Ilam. Continued arrests in South Pars; the governorate of Bushehr: 'The second leader' of the workers' strike has been arrested.