WeeklyWorker

06.02.1997

Oil workers set for confrontation

The Worker-Communist Party of Iran discusses the development and significance of oil strikes in Iran

Following a two day strike on August 19-20 1996 by oil workers in Iran, the government and oil ministry officials made assurances that they could meet workers’ demands within two months. Prominent amongst their demands was the implementation of a collective bargaining scheme.

This dispute has not been resolved. On December 18-19 oil workers from Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz and Isfahan went on strike and reiterated their demands. The workers temporarily halted the strike pending a request by the government and oil ministry officials to come up with a solution within a month.

The significance of the demand for recognition of the process of collective bargaining lies in the fact that the implementation of this right will lead to the recognition of workers’ rights to collectively organise and to elect their own representatives. This is in stark contrast to the government’s efforts to deny the workers the right to organisation and strike.

This dispute is of a major importance to the entire working class in Iran. The Iranian oil workers have a particular domestic and international significance. In Iran and the Middle-east, industries such as oil and communications are central to the economy. This fact was demonstrated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. While the Shah’s regime faced massive street demonstrations, the declaration of a national oil strike on October 5-6 1978 was a major blow to the regime. Troops were called in, arresting 70 leading workers in the Abadan refinery and the leader of the Tehran Oil Refinery Workers Union. Following the arrests, the workers in Lavanm Bahrakan, Ahwaz and other oilfields stopped working.

The strike by 70,000 oil workers halted production and the export of oil. Within a month production declined from nearly 6 million barrels a day to nearly 2 million. The oil strike had an international impact which caused a 10% drop in world consumption of oil by non-OPEC and non-Eastern bloc countries. This gave the workers a particular social and economic power.

Within a few months of the strike the Shah’s regime was overthrown.

During the Iran-Iraq War the workers, particularly in the southern oil fields, suffered heavily. The infamous war brought bombardment, loss of lives, destruction of homes and - in brief - misery. Any protest and resistance was suppressed and treated as a fifth column. The regime, under the pretext of war, attacked working conditions and reduced wages and imposed war tax.

Casualisation of work has been one of the tactics of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the Ministry of Oil in the last few years. It has created a multitier system where there are permanent workers who are directly employed by the NIOC as well as daily, three month and one year contract workers. The contract workers are constantly under pressure to do unpaid overtime. Any refusal to comply with management instructions will result in termination of their contract.

This has been used by the government to break any strike and protest and has created a highly insecure working environment.

In May 1990, Isfahan oil refinery workers demanded, “Double pay for overtime”. Despite 30 arrests and a lot of pressure, the strike continued for two weeks which secured the release of the detained strikers and a promise from the government to increase wages. A government delegation visited the refinery to rectify the situation. The workers made it clear to the delegation that: “It is no use telling you our demands, while we have no right to organise”.

On January 27 1991, oil workers struck just as they did the year before, for wage rises and a number of other welfare demands. The strike began at the Isfahan and Abadan refineries with hunger strikes and within days it spread to the refineries in Tehran and Shiraz. Their demands included: wage increase in line with inflation; clarification and rectification of thousands of employees who are not covered by labour law; implementation of a job classification scheme; provision of housing and increase in housing subsidy/benefit.

In the second week of the strike on February 8 1991 a representative of the Ministry of Labour visited the Tehran oil refinery and asked the strikers to end their strike and by electing reps allow the government and the authorities to deal with their demands. The workers refused and demanded to see the Minister of Oil. Two days later a representative of the Ministry of Information (Security) in Tehran Oil Refinery, by referring to the crises in the Gulf region, threatened the strikers, saying that “unless they end their strike, the security forces would move in”.

Though the strike was ended with the intervention of security forces and arrests, the strikers won most of their demands. The strike involved tens of thousands of oil workers. The strike was the first all-out strike in the oil industry since the great strike of 1978/79.

The government was careful not to encourage other workers to follow the oil workers’ example, but it was unable to brush aside the wage issue which was the pressing demand of the whole working class in Iran. The strike forced the Iranian government to indirectly put through its Supreme Council of Labour a wage rise of 36% across the board.

The effect of the strike and the importance of the oil workers as such was to the extent that the Ministry of Oil did not allow Islamic Societies (set up by the government in some of the work places) to be established in the oil industry.

It was in this round of strikes that Mr Aghazadeh, the Minister of Oil, on national TV said: “Of all the personnel that I have, some are workers and some white collar workers. Other workers are the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour”. He produced a plan, which was introduced in the rail industry the year before, to change the contract of employment and encourage workers to become white collar workers. This divisive plan was rejected by the majority of the striking workers. The strikers further demanded the right to organisation and the right to representation.

This was the first time that the news of workers’ strikes broke through state censorship and was reported by a number of news agencies and published throughout the world, including the New York Times. The government could only confirm the news of the strike, while trying to pretend it was a limited industrial action. For example, the Oil Ministry’s public relations officer reassured the journalists, including Reuters, that it was not a political strike and should not be compared with the oil strike in 1978.

On August 19-20 1996, 600 Tehran Oil Refinery workers, mainly from the oil storage unit and central gas depot, stopped work and without prior notice marched to the Labour House (the central body for the Islamic Societies and Councils) where they protested about non-implementation of collective agreement and the enforcement of labour law. They said: “According to the Labour Law, every three years the collective agreement needs to be re-negotiated. The NIOC has not negotiated with us in the last 17 years and does not even implement parts of the old agreement such as food subsidy and extra payments for harsh and dangerous working conditions. We want the implementation of the agreed Job Classification Scheme which the NIOC refuses to apply”. The oil workers’ welfare fund which is loaded, rather than provide loans for housing needs is involved in investment and speculation. Then 400 of the workers marched to the Ministry of Oil. They demanded to see the minister. The minister agreed to meet them. The workers complained about: non-implementation of Job Classification Scheme; lack of enforcement of the Labour Law; failure of the NIOC and the government to implement the collective agreement. This agreement covered payment in lieu of difficult and dangerous working conditions, etc; inferior quality of medical treatment received by the oil workers and their families; abolishing of housing loans by the NIOC.

The minister and the NIOC were given two months to respond to the demands of the workers.

The right to strike and organise is not recognised by the Islamic Republic regime in Iran. The government would not hesitate to use any means to suppress the striking workers. Dismissal, arbitrary arrest, execution and military occupation of the workplaces are well known and documented methods used by the Islamic regime of Iran.

All the indications are that the current round of disputes and confrontation will be widespread. This seems a defining moment for the working class in Iran

The international support for the oil workers and pressure on the Iranian government and the NIOC will have a tremendous effect. There are campaigns in 15 countries in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan to organise support for oil workers. We are asking you to support this campaign:

  1. Write/fax a letter to the Iranian embassy and NIOC’s office in London demanding recognition of the oil workers and condemning the anti-working class policies of the Islamic Republic regime.
  2. Pass a resolution in your trade union branch/organisation.
  3. Publicise the news of the strikers and their demands.


Model resolution

We note that:

  1. The oil refinery workers following two day warning strikes demand recognition of collective bargaining;
  2. The Islamic regime of Iran does not recognise the right to organisation, strike and collective agreement;
  3. Thousands of militant workers have been arrested, tortured and executed for organising strikes and taking part in protests.

We:

  1. Support the demands of oil refineries in Iran for the recognition of collective agreement;
  2. Demand the right to strike and organisation in Iran;

Condemn the anti-working class policies of the Islamic Republic regime of Iran