Workers Strike at Abadan Petrochemical and Razi Company; Temporary Oil Ministry Employees Protest

Protests over living conditions in Iran continue from various sectors, including strikes at Abadan Petrochemical, Razi Petrochemical, temporary employees of the Oil Ministry, farmers in Parsabad, and investors of the 'Rezaat Khodro' company in Qazvin. According to social media reports, including Telegram channels of labor and retirees' organizations, employees and workers at Abadan Petrochemical went on strike on Wednesday, October 4, protesting the non-payment of 'several months of wages and benefits.' On Monday, October 2, they also gathered in front of the Abadan Petrochemical headquarters demanding 'clarification from the CEO regarding the bankruptcy' of this industrial unit. The Aftab news agency reported on Sunday, October 1, that Abadan Petrochemical announced a debt of '2,946 billion tomans,' which is about 'three times the company's capital,' declaring bankruptcy. Additionally, according to the Telegram channel of the Committee for the Follow-up of Labor Organizations, contract workers at Razi Petrochemical in the Imam Khomeini Special Economic Zone have been on strike since October 1. They protested the non-payment of 'delayed claims and significant discrimination in the allocation of welfare benefits between official and contract workers' of the company. The Committee noted that the Razi company officials have not only ignored the demands of the striking workers but have also used various methods to pressure them, including withholding lunch from the striking workers. The Telegram channel 'Civil Market Protest' also reported that temporary employees of the Oil Ministry gathered in front of the Khuzestan Oil Fields Company and the Tehran Continental Shelf Company, demanding a change in their contract status to 'fixed-term.' These protesters also called for 'empowerment and the ability to be employed against vacant organizational positions,' 'full implementation of the January 2022 resolution of the Administrative and Employment Council of the Oil Industry' regarding 'special and professional allowances,' and the payment of 'worker bonuses' and 'buying back leave according to labor law.' Other demands from this group of Oil Ministry employees include 'calculating overtime and productivity bonuses according to fixed-term workers' and 'granting educational bonuses to employees' children. In recent days, some employees of the oil platforms of the Iran Continental Shelf and Pars Oil and Gas companies have also held protests. According to the official demands of the Iranian Oil Industry employees (Oil Thoughts), they considered setting a 'salary cap' as 'equivalent to the destruction of the oil industry and human motivation' and called for the 'removal of the retirement bonus cap.' In this context, the Telegram channel 'Oil-rich' reported that Safarali Raeisi, the authorized representative of the CEO of the National South Oilfields Company, emphasized the serious pursuit of employee demands until results are achieved during a meeting with representatives of South Oil employees. However, he stated that 'solving many demands is beyond the management of the South Oilfields and pertains to the Ministry and the National Company, and some, like the salary cap for operational area employees, must be pursued by the parliament and its representatives.' Furthermore, investors and victims of the 'Rezaat Khodro Taravat Novin' company gathered in front of the Qazvin judiciary, chanting 'either death or payment,' stating that 'we do not want announcements' and 'we want our money.' According to another report, several farmers in Parsabad, Ardabil province, gathered in front of the Moghan Agricultural and Industrial Company. These farmers, holding receipts for wheat seed payments, stated that despite having paid the amount, the Moghan company had not yet delivered the seeds to them. The economic crisis in Iran continues, and a member of parliament has acknowledged that protests have not subsided. The World Bank has reported a bleak outlook for Iran's economy under the Islamic Republic's rule. Ahmad Alavi, an economist and researcher, stated in an interview that the economic uncertainty in Iran is directly related to 'political uncertainty.'