The Roots of Provident Funds in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (1901–1931)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Assistant Professor of History, Archival Research Institute, National Library and Archives of Iran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Purpose: Over the years after World War I, this provision made the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Iran's largest employer in the economy. A majority of these workers were recruited from regions occupied by tribes or feudal-like landlord–peasant-controlled regions and were thus compelled to adapt to the type of job in an industrial environment. The absence of protective legislation and policies controlling labor during that period greatly increased the frequency and severity of work-related accidents. Even so, during the 1930s (the solar Hijri calendar), these concerns were gradually met by rules through the process of provident funds. Based on this background, this current study tries to find the answer to the question: What were the causes behind the institution of provident funds in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company?
Method and Research Design: This study uses a historical approach and draws on historical records from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
Findings and Conclusion: The central hypothesis of the current paper is that, although on the one hand workers made demands on medical and social services from the company in the capacity of their employer, on the other hand the emerging Iranian bureaucracy of the 1930s, within the interwar context, was increasingly able to synchronize—albeit partially—with workers' claims. These changes formed the backdrop for preparation and introduction of appropriate regulations. But the company responded by implementing a discriminatory bylaw that restricted Iranian employees' claims to a minimum level of benefits in the form of a provident fund, not addressing many of their fundamental needs.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

English Translation of References
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  • Receive Date: 15 January 2025
  • Revise Date: 22 January 2025
  • Accept Date: 05 March 2025

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