Shafaq News- Basra

Former workers at the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) project, a key oil refining unit at the South Refineries Company, escalated protests in Iraq’s oil-rich southern Basra province on Tuesday, blocking roads and company entrances as they pressed for permanent employment.

Ahmed Shakir, a representative of the protesters, told Shafaq News that about 350 workers had spent years on the project before being laid off once it became operational. The workers, previously employed on temporary contracts, are seeking permanent contracts under the Oil Ministry, while Shakir noted that the ministry had approved their employment if the company formally requested their services.

The protesters prevented employees from entering, describing the action as an escalation after their demands went unanswered. “We are not highway robbers, but the continued disregard of our demands has pushed us to take these steps,” Shakir stressed.

The workers argue that their years on the project gave them the technical experience required for jobs at the facility and have objected to the use of foreign labor instead of local personnel. Shakir added that previous protests had seen arrests and forcible dispersal, but vowed that demonstrations would continue until their employment demand is met.

Implemented by Japan’s JGC Corporation and financed through a concessional loan of nearly $4 billion from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the FCC complex entered operation on Jan. 31, 2026, with a refining capacity of 55,000 barrels per day.

Tuesday’s protest follows other recent labor actions in Basra. On Monday, education-sector workers and graduates demonstrated over unpaid salaries, employment and disputed hiring lists, while employees of the province’s state-owned fertilizer company opposed plans to transfer a government-operated production line to private investment.