Ahwaz Human Rights Organization AHRO) has received confirmed news via credible source from AL Ahwaz that about 50 skilled and semi-skilled Ahwazi workers in the largest refinery in Abadan have been fired by their employer and in turn their places have been filled with non-Arabs incomers who are overwhelmingly unskilled workers.
The expelled Ahwazi workers complained that the refinery’s HR has extravagantly hired non-local and unskilled workers, taking over their only source of income which financially sponsored at least five family members for each worker. Despite the employers have promised them to have their contract renewed or to extended for further period of time upon beginning of new Persian calendar; 20/3/2016, however this has never happened and they were let to go without a reasonable answer.
The workers in protest against this unjust decision have desperately held a 48-hour strike and gathered in front of the gate 5 of the refinery, but the security forces have dispersed the crowd threatening them for arrest if they continue their protest.

As the systematic procedures, the local companies in Alahwaz intentionally and throughout local and central authorities lobbied by the mostly Lor ethnic group (incomers from Lorestan province) with revolutionary guards influences, has always dealt with Ahwazi’s work applications unfairly and priority always given to no Ahwazi and in best situation Ahwazi work seekers have been only offered short term contract jobs that could be terminated at any time. In addition to that Ahwazi workers were ineligible from all sort of work related welfare such as housing support, pension etc.

This discrimination procedure has been escalated significantly in last few years as it become part of the regime policy agenda targeting all Ahwazi classes with the aim to minimize Arabs majority population in the region to non-Arabs settlers and eventually to forge an identity for the province in opposition to its historic Arab identity (named by Iran as Arabistan in their books and official correspondents till 1936).
It is noted that the unemployment rate among ahwazis is relatively high in compare with other non-Arabs incomers’ in the region despite the region contains the major resources of wealth for the country.
AHRO strongly condemns this Iranian regime’s inhuman decision against Ahwazi workers and demands that all international human right organisations and labour union to highlight Iranian regime crimes against Ahwazi people and their civil rights which will affect many Ahwazi families and their daily lives.
Ahwaz human rights organisation
11 May 2016