Oil Workers on Strike

Workers from the Iraqi Pipelines Company in Basra are on strike today.

Workers began the strike at 6.30 this morning by shutting two 14"
pipelines carrying oil and gas products inside Iraq.

The strike is over unfulfilled demands tabled by the Iraqi Federation of
Oil Unions (IFOU) - of which the Iraqi Pipelines Union is a member - to
Prime Minister Maliki on May 16th 2007. The 16 demands focus on improved
working conditions, pay, land for homes, a reduction in the national
price of fuel and crucially, inclusion in the Oil Law drafting process.

Prime Minister Maliki agreed to the Federation’s demands and established
a committee comprised of Ministry of Oil, IFOU and Southern Oil Company
representatives to implement the demands.

Strike leaders say, if the government does not implement the agreement,
the 48" crude pipeline to Baghdad will be shut.