Sep 10, 2012

Ahwazi: Discrimination Drives Up Unemployment


Pervasive discrimination against the Ahwazi people to work in local industries in the Khuzestan province leads to high unemployment among them.

Below is an article published by the Ahwaz News Agency:

Unemployment is an acute problem in Arab-majority Khuzestan province due to refusal to employ local people in industry, said Majlis member of Abadan Seyed Hussein Dahdashi this week.

Although Abadan, home to the world's largest oil refinery, has a high employment capacity, oil company managers are refusing to fulfill a 50% quota for local people, said Dahdashi in an interview with Shooshan News Agency. He accused provincial authorities of not providing Majlis members precise information on the proportion of non-indigenous and indigenous employees in different economic sectors.

Sayed Sharif Hosseini, Ahwaz member in the Majlis, has also criticised discrimination in favour of non-native people from other provinces in Khuzestan's organisations and offices, adding: "Unfortunately, the local recruits quota has been reduced in some organisations. This is not in the province's interests. The most important goal should be to reduce the rate of unemployment and we demand action from the government."

Meanwhile, Majlis member for Shushtar (Tostar) Sadar Ebrahimi claimed that the province's developmental problems are due to the lack of effective, capable and indigenous management.