A group of citizens and job seekers in Gachsaran held a gathering in front of the county's governor's office to protest the hiring process in the Gachsaran petro-refinery project. The protesters claim that this project, contrary to its initial goals of creating employment for local workers, has become a place for hiring non-local workers.
According to the protesters, more than 100 non-local workers have been employed in this project, and these hires were made with the recommendation and follow-up of Gholamreza Tajgardoon, the representative of Gachsaran and Basht in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. They believe that contrary to the promises made at the start of the project, no share has been allocated for the local youth, and the hiring process has been conducted based on recommendations and outside of fair competition.
Protest Against Local Officials' Performance
Participants in this gathering also protested against the performance of some local officials. According to them, Mohammadi, the political deputy governor of Gachsaran, and Chehreh-Azad, the head of the county's labor department, were among the officials criticized by the protesters. The protesters claim that the political deputy governor responded to the protests by stating that since the budget for this project was secured through Gholamreza Tajgardoon's negotiations and follow-ups, he has the authority to make decisions regarding hiring.
Video of this gathering and the deputy governor's remarks
Local activists also pointed out past protests regarding the implementation of this project, reminding that they had previously warned about the environmental consequences of the plan and the change of the project's location. According to them, a significant portion of the local population supported the implementation of the Lishtar Gachsaran petro-refinery with the hope that this plan could alleviate part of the unemployment crisis among local youth.
Deviating from Initial Goals
The protesters say that creating job opportunities for local workers was one of the main pillars of Gholamreza Tajgardoon's electoral promises, but now this project has deviated from its initial goals and, according to them, has become a platform for exerting influence in appointments, hiring, and assigning managerial positions.
