Video: Employees of Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery Protest

Employees of the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery have staged a protest, according to local media reports. The protest took place on June 22, with workers from the state oil company's security department announcing that their department had been removed from SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic) and handed over to the private GESCO company.

The protesters indicated that the reason for their demonstration was a potential reduction in wages. One of the protesters stated, “They are trying to convince us that we will agree, that all our conditions, our salaries will remain valid, but we do not believe it.”

According to the protesters, 700 people are now under the private company, with a monthly salary of 400 manats. “We want to know why the enterprise established by the president's decree is being privatized. The protesters chanted, “We don’t want GESCO.”

A representative of GESCO stated that staff were informed that all employees' rights would be respected, assuring that “their salaries and social security will be maintained.”