On Tuesday, workers from Iran’s oil, natural gas, and petrochemical industries held their nationwide protest for the eleventh consecutive day.

Workers were on strike from the Tanesh Gostar, Omran Sanat, Farzin Moradi, Rugby Pouya, Gil Sanat, and Kayhan Pars companies as well as several power plants. While the Bidkhoon refinery and Iran Ring of Industry Company were completely shut down.

The officials in the companies are trying to get the workers back by making pledges through contractors and other agents because they are terrified that strikes will continue, leading to not only less profit but potentially the grinding to a halt of the country because of a lack of power. However, the strikes are continuing.

On Monday, nurses from Urmia, northwest Iran, gathered in front of the governor’s office to protest the several month delays in paying their wages. Most of the nurses were working on the coronavirus wards in their hospitals, citing that they had not been paid either their salaries or their overtime pay since March.

They were also protesting that their working hours had increased and that overtime work was now forced. They said that their working hours had increased from 160 hours per month to 175 hours with no salary increase and that all nurses were given 50 hours of compulsory overtime per month.

This is the fault of the regime, who have known for years that they have too few nurses to contend with everyday hospital admissions, let alone during a pandemic that the mullahs have failed to control. It was always criminal to not recruit fully trained but unemployed nurses in order to save money at the expense of people’s lives and it is tantamount to genocide now.

Meanwhile, employees of the Health System Reform Plan gathered outside the Khuzestan Governor’s Office to demand:

  • implementation of the job classification plan
  • regular payment of salaries
  • change of status
  • elimination of contracting companies

Also on Monday, workers of the Ahvaz Water and Sewage Company gathered to protest delays in their wages outside the Khuzestan Water and Sewage Company building.

These industries – power, healthcare, and water treatment – are the true companies helping the country keep running. The employees deserve respect or the regime may soon see that the uprising that brings their downfall will be sooner rather than later.

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Iran Regime Fears Further Oil Strikes