Iranian Oil Production Strike Looming

...From the Iran Daneshjoo Organization News Service - http://www.iran-daneshjoo.org - news provided by the "Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran".

Strikes have started since Saturday to protest against the decision of the Islamic Republic regime to allow the sale of shares which will lead to Foreign companies takeover of this Iranian National asset.

Hundreds of petroleum industry employees and workers joined in a warning action on Saturday and Sunday by stopping work and denouncing this recent sale of the people's assets.

Already, the protests against contracts signed between the Islamic regime and companies such as total, Shell and BP which are aiming at getting their hands on this national resource of Iran is rising.

Rumors are widespread about the intention of an all out strike in the Iranian oil refineries by workers and employees in the next weeks.

Today, the continuation of such policy is a manifestation of the Islamic regime's total subserviency to companies such as Total, Shell and British Petroleum which are only helping themselves to maintain a regime that has already been denounced by its people, a regime which is paying a high ransom to maintain its rapidly losing power.

As we are reminded only a year ago, the Islamic regime in a shameful act against the people's great achievement of the Oil nationalization almost five decades ago under the leadership of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, tried in vain to erase this glorious day in the Iranian calendar. They were not successful as the people objected with great defiance.

The companies and governments which deal with the Islamic Republic must be reminded that this is a failing regime which is rapidly losing its popular base.

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Iran MPs to probe drilling company's privatisation

TEHRAN, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Iran's parliament is to send investigators to the oil-rich southwest after days of sit-ins by employees of the National Iranian Drilling Co, newspapers reported on Saturday.

The employees have been protesting plans by the oil ministry to privatise the drilling company.

They say privatisation will only lead to profits for certain officials of the state run oil industry, Hayat-e No newspaper said.

Members of the parliamentary committee on energy affairs will travel to Khuzestan province, Iran's oil heartland, on Monday to ivestigate, MP Nematollah Alirezaei said.

"If members of the committee conclude (that the privatisation) is not well-founded, they will stop it,"he said. "The issue has caused grave concern and parliament is not happy with it."

Employees have stopped drilling and even temporarily closed an inter-city road to protest the privatisation, the daily Entekhab said.

It quoted a "specialist" at the company as saying the true market value of the company is around 20 trillion rials ($2.4 billion) but the ministry planned to sell it to a private fund for retired oil employees for three trillion rials.

($1=8,165 rials)

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