Kuwaiti Oil Strikers Vow to Continue
Striking oilmen aiming to halt Kuwaiti oil production said Sunday they would continue their two-day-old action after talks with the government failed to resolve a labor dispute.
“We will continue this strike until the company meets our demands,” said Anwar al-Balhan, general secretary of Kuwait Oil Co. Labor Union.
Oil traders said the union has failed to put a dent in the gulf state’s production of 2 million barrels per day, source of 90% of state revenue.
The strike calling on 1,400 workers in KOC production and export departments has been obeyed by just over half of that total and replacement workers were drafted Saturday morning when the strike began, oil executives say.
But the union predicts the effect on Kuwait’s 3% share of global crude oil output will be felt within three days. The world benchmark price rose 10 cents to close Friday at $18.26 a barrel.
Oil Minister Abdul-Mohsen al-Mudej met union officials including chairman Mohammad al-Sarhan on Sunday for the first time in the dispute but Balhan said the result was “negative.”
The union wants a reform of job grades to reward veteran staff it says are unfairly denied better pay and conditions.
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