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20 March, 2006
Workers represented by ICEM Jordanian affiliate, General Trade Union of Petrol and Chemical Workers’ Union, began a legal strike at the state-owned Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co. on 8 March. Some 3,500 workers struck in order to get the company to implement a signed agreement that was agreed to by workers and management.
The agreement calls for wage increases, housing loans and post-retirement health insurance, but the government has failed to put those and other work terms into effect. The union had put forward the demands in 2003 and they were subsequently agreed upon. The strike is at Jordan’s only oil refinery, the 100,000 barrel-per-day Zarqa refinery. Jordan must import all crude oil supplies, and production at the refinery is crucial for domestic purposes.