Private oil sector employees stage protest for equal pay; Call to address injustice

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 14: A number of citizens working in the private oil sector held a protest on Sunday in front of the Ministry of Oil office in Shuwaikh area, demanding the implementation of labor law No. 28/1969 in the oil sector, reports Al-Rai daily. Revealing that the number of Kuwaitis working in the private oil sector has exceeded 14,000, head of the volunteer team for workers in this sector Salem Al-Ajmi stressed the need for the government to pay attention to them, address the injustice inflicted on them, and make them functionally equal to their Kuwaiti colleagues in the government oil sector. He said, “There are no less than 14,000 Kuwaiti men and women in the private oil sector working on contracts in oil companies.

These employees work in difficult conditions, take up risky jobs, and face danger, just like their colleagues in the government oil sector. Unfortunately, there is neglect by the oil sector leadership in applying and activating law No. 28/1969, which equates us with our colleagues in the government sector.

Our peaceful protest is aimed at sending a message to His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to highlight the injustice that has befallen upon us in terms of not activating the law, as the civil labor law is currently applied on us instead of the oil sector labor law. We work in a difficult environment and we are registered with the Public Institution for Social Security as white collar jobs.

This is unfair. We are also wronged in our health insurance and our allowances, as we work in oil fields and in dangerous places. Unfortunately, there is a neglect of our demands. The state’s attention should be focused on developing and supporting the human element to work in the private sector. We only demand equality… This is our hope in the government and the new era. We have gathered in this protest not to strike or to call for strikes or civil disobedience, but to seek our rights and implement judicial rulings that confirm our entitlement to our job gains. Therefore, the course must be corrected. We demand the application of the law and the amendment of the regulations for national employment in the oil sector.”

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