Protest Gathering of Hundreds of Oil Contract Workers in Front of Medical Office

Hundreds of informal oil workers (third-party contractors) gathered in front of the Presidential Office on Saturday, February 25, chanting protest slogans and demanding attention to their poor working conditions. The Telegram channel of the Council for Organizing Protests of Informal Oil Workers estimated the number of protesters to be around two thousand. According to the report, the protesters shouted slogans such as "His title is Minister of Labor, but he supports contractors," "We don't want contractors, we don't want exploitation," and "Fair wages are our undeniable right," calling for the elimination of contracting companies. The workers' council stated: "We, the oil third-party workers, aware of the government's intention to maintain the mafia contractors who are direct agents of plundering oil capital, declare that the show project of converting the employment status of workers, which is going back and forth in a repetitive and false manner between the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Guardian Council, the Expediency Discernment Council, and the government, is merely a tool for those in power who benefit from the survival of these mafia contractors and want to use our deception and silence to prepare more opportunities for their survival." Additionally, according to ILNA news agency, the protesting workers, who traveled from various cities such as Gachsaran to Tehran, stated that their main demand is "to convert their status and sign contracts with the Ministry of Oil." The elimination of contracting companies and signing direct work contracts have been two demands of workers across various regions of Iran during strikes and protests. Other demands from the protesting workers include job security, improved working conditions, the right to assemble and organize protests, immediate reinstatement of dismissed workers, and proper and complete implementation of the job classification plan. Following the continued protests of third-party workers at the National Iranian Drilling Company and the oil industry, several of their representatives faced punitive actions and dismissals. These security responses have occurred amid numerous recent protests by third-party oil workers. In this context, the Telegram channel "Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality" reported that security forces attempted to disperse the gathering of workers but were unsuccessful. According to the newspaper "Etemad," the crackdown on demanding workers in some private and contracting workshops began in the 2010s and intensified in the early 2020s. The newspaper reported various forms of retaliation by some contractors against demanding workers, including layoffs, wage cuts, prohibition of leave, prohibition of overtime, elimination of overtime benefits, legal action against workers for inciting rebellion and protest, reduction of wages and benefits, demotion of workers from their previous positions, and preventing entry into the workshop premises. Workers are deprived of many of their basic rights in Iran due to the government's prohibition of their union activities. Despite having a representative in the Supreme Labor Council, they have consistently faced wage suppression. Nevertheless, the number of labor protests in Iran has significantly increased in recent years.