Basra oil workers protest mass layoffs

Shafaq News – Basra (Updated at 17:15)

Dozens of workers protested on Wednesday at Halliburton’s oil facility in al-Burjesiya, Basra, after the sudden dismissal of more than 100 Iraqi employees without notice.

One protester told Shafaq News that 117 contracts were terminated “overnight,” including staff with over 15 years of service. He noted that while Iraqis were laid off, the company continues to employ foreign and Egyptian laborers at its al-Zubair, Rumaila, and al-Fayhaa sites on daily wages — a practice workers argued is designed to evade tax obligations.

The demonstrators called on Basra’s local government and the employment office to intervene, warning that continued layoffs threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of families.

A separate protest erupted earlier today outside the South Refineries Company, where former employees of the FCC oil project demanded ministerial contracts after being dropped despite years of service.

The FCC (Fluid Catalytic Cracking) unit — one of Iraq’s largest refinery expansions, built with Hyundai Engineering — was recently completed to boost production of high-octane fuel and cut imports. Workers involved in its construction said they were dismissed once operations began.

“Our number is 350 across all ages and qualifications,” protest leader Ahmed Shakir told Shafaq News. “We worked more than five years to complete the project, but after its launch we were cast aside with no job security. That’s why we’ve been protesting for over six months.”

He argued that their expertise qualifies them to run the facility, yet officials preferred foreign labor.

“Instead of benefitting from our expertise, they marginalized us.”

The demonstrators are demanding permanent contracts on par with employees in other state oil companies, though their appeals to the Oil Minister and Prime Minister since the unit’s inauguration have “gone unanswered.”