Workers protest against layoffs in Iraq’s oil projects company

BAGHDAD, October 25 — A group of daily wage workers from the Oil Projects Company initiated a sit-in outside the Ministry of Oil in Baghdad on Wednesday in protest over a decision to terminate approximately 1,400 workers.

The workers are calling for the company and Ministry to provide them contract positions per a government decision.

Protesters held banners and chanted slogans, saying they were shocked at the decision to layoff workers and said there was no legal basis for the decision. They called on the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene.

A statement delivered by a representative of the protesters during the sit-in, said:

We have submitted a request to convert us from daily wage workers to contracted employees in accordance with Decision No. 315 of 2019, or to receive wages as per Decision No. 192 of 2021.

We number an estimated 1,462 individuals who have been working as daily wage workers in the Oil Projects Company for the past three years. We were employed in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Decisions No. 315 and 337 of 2019, as per payment vouchers.

The company’s work involves executing projects based on the needs of institutions and geographical locations, often in areas with security or tribal sensitivities where conflicts are prevalent. Our company has seen many martyrs among the daily wage workers, as documented in the company’s letter No. 4884 dated May 25, 2022.

Four individuals who were eligible for retirement were retained by the company, relying on us for project execution. Moreover, the financial allocations for our conversion to contracts as per Decision No. 315 or for wages as per Decision No. 192 are available, as confirmed in the company’s letter.

Resolving our issue would result in significant savings for the state budget, as the wages we currently receive are significantly higher than our salaries as contract employees.”