Strike Actions in Petrochemical Complex in Mahshahr

Iran Labor Report

Last July, following 18 months of well-organized and tenacious struggle, contracting workers at Bandar Imam Petrochemical complex in the port city of Mahshahr won their demand to be paid as salaried employees rather than subcontracted workers. This meant an end to the operations of myriad intermidiary firms which specialize in exploiting their employee.
Despite this singular victory, change in workers’ status has been ludicrously slow in taking effect. As of now only 30% of them have had their new status finalized.
The slow pace of the process and the deliberate foot-dragging by the management finally set off the new wave of strikes on October 27.

According to the reports by Free Union of Iranian Workers, Kimia Petrochemical workers walked out on October 27, with Faravaresh Petrochemiical workers and a several from Besyaran joing them the following day. On November 4, the workers threatened to take their protest to the central offices of Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex in case their demands continued to be ignored.

On the day of the strike, Faravaresh management finally met with the workers and promised to follow through the implementation of the agreement. Next, when workers pressed for written guarantees, the management accepted the following demands: immediate implementation of the status change for the remaining workers; payment of the previously agreed 100,000 tomans per month to those still not becoming salaried plus payment of ab extra 150,000 tomans for those in the transitional process; and immediate payment of 1.5 million toman in back pay for major repair work.

Faravaresh workers ended their strike following the signing of the agreements. Kimia workers, however, continued with their strike.

Separately, on November 11, 300 Fajr Petrochemical workers went on strike over the Labor Day bonuses, wage raises, and safety issues. Ali Rezai, a labor activist talking with Iranian Labour News Agancy (ILNA), said that all petrochemical workers had been paid their 100,000 toman Labor Day bonuses while Fajr management refrains from paying these bonuses.