BASRA, Iraq, June 5 Iraqi oil workers, marginalized while a law to govern the oil is drafted and debated, are firing a warning shot by going on strike.
The Iraqi Pipelines Union released a statement Monday that it shut down two 14-inch oil and gas products pipelines inside the country in protest against the law and working conditions they want changed.
The statement, released by a number of ally groups outside the country, said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki needs to make good on an agreement on the demands reached May 16 or face more work stoppage.
The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, an umbrella group of more than 26,000 oil-sector workers, including the Basra-based IPU, is demanding better working conditions, salaries, land promised them and lower fuel prices.
And most importantly, they want to join the debate over the law that will govern Iraq's vast oil reserves -- the third-largest in the world.
Saad Rahim, manager in the country strategies group at analyst PFC Energy, said there is now a "sense of increased risk," with the oil workers demanding to sit at the table with Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni lawmakers in Baghdad. It's not known exactly how long the current strike will last.
While stopping exports will be a power move directed at getting Baghdad's attention, choking off the country's main source of revenue for too long could turn the federation from hero to villain, Rahim said.
Iraq sends 1.6 million barrels per day of oil to the market, which brings in 93 percent of the federal budget.
The IFOU says up next, if Maliki doesn't make progress on the demands, is shutting down a 48 inch pipeline sending oil to Baghdad.
Ben Lando, UPI Energy Correspondent
Copyright 2007 by UPI
