Striking Iranian oil workers

The Communist Party USA Labor Commission and International Department have issued a statement in solidarity with the 20,000 striking workers in Iran’s oil, gas, and petrochemical industry.

On June 20, nationwide strikes were initiated in Iran and have since expanded to encompass more than 110 companies. The strikers are demanding wage increases, permanent contracts, a work rotation of 14 days on and 14 days off (referred to as the “14-14 Campaign”), improved dormitories, increased safety measures, and the elimination of corrupt middleman contractors.

The Council for Organizing Protests by Non-Permanent Oil Workers, also known as the Third Pillar, has urged workers who have been outsourced to participate in the strikes. The Council has warned the strikes will escalate if their demands are not met.

Imperialist meddling by the United States has played a significant role in the dire economic conditions currently facing Iran. The U.S. imperialist interests in the country largely revolve around its extensive oil reserves and the desire for western control over these invaluable natural resources. The current conditions of the Iranian people were magnified by Big Oil in the 1950’s which orchestrated a CIA-led coup that ousted a democratically elected government and established the Shah, a pro-western autocrat, in its place.

Ongoing economic sanctions and isolation imposed by the U.S. exacerbate the hardship faced by the Iranian people. Furthermore, the authoritarian rule of the current theocratic regime and the Iranian ruling class further perpetuate oppression by suppressing the rights of the Iranian working class to organize for improved pay and working conditions.

In recent years, Iran’s oil and gas workers, traditionally well-compensated, have been increasingly outsourced to government intermediaries who pay them less than market rates and enforce rigorous working conditions.

In 2021, a similar strike in Iran saw 110,000 oil workers walk off the job due to issues with temporary contracts, low wages, lack of union recognition, poor living conditions, and government contractors not meeting their obligations towards workers’ social security contributions.

As in our country, the working class is on the move internationally. They are demanding an end to stagnant wages, poor working conditions, subcontracted employment, a loss of benefits and pensions, and their democratic right to join a union and bargain collectively. In the last year alone, around half-a-million U.S. workers walked off the job in a resurgence of collective action. Major strike activity increased by 280% in our country.

The CPUSA expresses full solidarity with the striking workers, the Tudeh Party of Iran, and their just struggle for peace, legal rights, trade union freedoms, and social justice.

We reaffirm our demand that the U.S. government stop meddling in the affairs of Iran. We call on our working class to continue the fight against the threat of war and to organize for peace.

Long live working class and Communist internationalism!

The Communist Party USA International Department
The Communist Party USA Labor Commission

Images:  Striking Iranian oil workers by NIAC Action (Creative Commons).

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