Oil graduates protest unemployment in Iraq’s Kirkuk
Shafaq News- Kirkuk
Graduates of oil-related colleges and technical institutes protested outside the North Oil Company’s headquarters in Kirkuk on Monday, demanding jobs suited to their qualifications.
Gathering at the company’s main entrance in the Arafa district, north of the city, the demonstrators urged authorities to address unemployment among those trained for work in the oil industry. Protester Hassan Ali told Shafaq News that years of study had not led to employment, calling for concrete recruitment measures, particularly in Kirkuk, one of Iraq’s major oil-producing provinces.
Another demonstrator, Sarmad Mahmoud, expressed frustration over prolonged unemployment, emphasizing graduates’ desire to put their technical skills to use in the industry.
Similar protests took place outside the North Oil Company on September 22 and October 8, with participants seeking a clear recruitment process and access to positions at state-owned oil companies.
On September 7, Oil Minister Bassim Mohammed Khudair requested Cabinet approval to create positions for oil institute graduates from the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025, and make contract and daily-wage workers at state oil companies permanent employees. Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi later directed the Finance Ministry to include permanent and contract positions for long-waiting graduates in the draft federal budget, subject to staffing needs across ministries and state institutions.
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