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Basra Protests spark Govt Scramble to Create Jobs

By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The Iraqi Cabinet announced Aug. 12 that it has approved a regulation by the Ministry of Labor requiring that 50% of foreign oil company employees working in the country be Iraqis.

The move followed mass demonstrations in Basra calling for better public services, including clean water and working and reliable electricity, and job opportunities for the unemployed in the city. Iraq’s largest oil reserves lie beneath Basra province.

Basra Governor Assaad al-Eidani had on July 31 announced that an agreement had been concluded with the foreign oil companies to secure job opportunities for Basra residents. Days earlier, the Associated Press reported Deputy Governor Dhirgham al-Ajwadi saying that the unemployment rate in Basra, population 4 million, had risen sharply to at least 30%.

On July 13, demonstrators had stormed the headquarters of the Russian oil company LUKOIL at Basra’s West Qurna 2 field, one of the largest, leading workers to pack their belongings. A number of them were evacuated by helicopter.

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(Picture Credit: Ahmed Mahmoud)

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Video: Protests Outside Oil Field near Basra

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

People are still protesting across southern Iraq, despite a promise by the prime minister to create jobs and improve public services.

The unrest began in the oil-rich province of Basra last week and has spread to several other large cities.

Demonstrators say they’re not benefitting from Iraq’s vast oil wealth, because of government corruption and mismanagement.

Al Jazeera‘s Osama Bin Javaid reports:

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Basra Protests: Oil Minister Orders More Jobs

By John Lee.

Protestors took to the streets of Basra for the fourth day on Wednesday, protesting the killing of a demonstrator by security forces, and demanding jobs and public services.

According to AFP, protesters also blocked the road leading to the oilfields of West Qurna, while international oil companies (IOCs) have reportedly moved senior staff out of the area for their security.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved measures to improve the delivery of essential public services in Basra province, with a focus on improving the supply of electricity to homes and businesses.

It also “instructed Iraq’s embassies, consulates and all border entry points to apply new visa and residency fees for foreign nationals seeking to enter Iraq“.

The Cabinet voted to establish a specialist committee staffed by teams from the Planning and the Construction & Housing Ministries to assess the value of resuming several incomplete or suspended projects, and instructed the Ministry of Finance to speed up the allocation of funds for projects that are deemed suitable for completion.

Meanwhile, Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] ordered “secondary contractor companies in West Qurna oil field to provide new jobs for the citizens of the neighbor towns near to the field“, and to “provide additional jobs for the citizens of Shatt Al-Arab district and the other towns“.

“Otherwise“, he added, “the Ministry will take the appropriate procedures towards the companies that violates the directions“.

(Sources: AFP, Iraqi Cabinet, Ministry of Oil)

(Picture credit: Ahmed Mahmoud)