Iran’s oil workers take strike action

This strike differs from previous industrial action in that it is concerned, not just with economic demands, but also with political ones, such as establishing the right to strike. It would seem that the Iranian working class is no longer on the defensive.

Shahrzadnews: Had the protests that followed Iran’s 2009 election been supported by strikes from the working classes, the outcome would have been very different. Those protests were marked by the failure of the people to make any clear economic demands. The labour movement did not take the opportunity to add its own voice of dissent.

However, the number of occasions on which Iranian workers have taken industrial action has increased in recent months, and it is significant that workers in the oil and petrochemical industries have been involved.

Oil is the lifeline of Iran’s economy, and Iranian governments have always tried to ensure that oil workers were happy with their wages and conditions. The fact that even these workers are beginning to protest is a clear indication that millions of others are suffering economic conditions that are even worse.

Strike Action

A strike at the Imam Khomeini port in the oil rich province of Khuzestan began on September 24th, and workers are continuing to maintain picket lines and hold rallies. This is just one of many strikes taking place across the country and involving over six and a half thousand petrochemical workers.

According to official government figures, there has been a 5% percent fall in the country’s petrochemical production in recent months, a factor that has increased economic pressure on the industry’s workforce.

The strikers want to be employed directly by the government, instead of by subcontractors and other private firms that currently act as a buffer between them and the industry’s management. They have also called for an increase in salaries and bonuses. So far three workers’ representatives have been arrested, leading to angry condemnation of the government from their fellows. When management threatened to sack workers who refused to go back to work, strikers reacted by setting up a crisis committee in order to ensure a swift response should such threats be carried out.

This strike differs from previous industrial action in that it is concerned, not just with economic demands, but also with political ones, such as establishing the right to strike. It would seem that the Iranian working class is no longer on the defensive.

Solidarity

As well as taking strike action, workers are beginning to set up independent unions. Support for the strikes has also been increasing from workers in other industrial sectors. In particular a number of cities have seen the emergence of four independent workers’ unions, all of which have declared their support for the striking petrochemical workers. Even more significant is the establishment in various parts of the country of a number of female workers’ unions, which have also expressed support for the strikes.

The union leaders under arrest are Mansour Abbasi, Mohammad Bagher Bagheri and Jasim Badrani.

Source: Shahrzad News