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Kuwait says oil unions end strike over government cutbacks Kuwait oil unions end 3-day strike over government cutbacks
(35 minutes later)
KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait says the country’s oil unions have ended a three-day strike over government cutbacks. KUWAIT CITY — Oil unions in Kuwait ended a three-day strike over government cutbacks, authorities said Wednesday, though it remained unclear what concessions may have been granted to the workers amid low global crude prices.
The state-run Kuwait News Agency reported early Wednesday that the strike ended with the unions praising the country’s ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. The state-run Kuwait News Agency reported that the unions ended the strike by praising the country’s ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, and saying their action showed their “ability to affect the production process.”
The report, which said the strike ended late Tuesday, said the workers would return to their jobs Wednesday. It did not say if any concessions were offered to the unions by the government. The unions “entrusted his highness, the emir, (with) the protection of rights of the employees in the oil sector,” the unions said, according to KUNA. It said workers wouldn’t be disciplined for taking part in the strike.
Adel al-Fadhel, a spokesman for the Kuwait Oil Company Workers’ Union, confirmed workers would go back to work Wednesday. He said that he felt the strike was successful, without offering any specifics about what the unions gained. Adel al-Fadhel, a spokesman for the Kuwait Oil Company Workers’ Union, confirmed workers would go back to work Wednesday. He said Sheikh Sabah spoke to the head of one of the unions Tuesday by telephone to assure his support for the workers.
The strike comes after a meeting this weekend among oil producers failed to reach a deal about freezing output. “We’re glad to announce that the strike has succeeded in preserving the rights of the workers in the oil sector,” al-Fadhel told The Associated Press. “His highness, the emir, intervened and guaranteed to preserve the rights of the workers according to the law.”
Al-Fadhel did not elaborate.
Workers began the strike Sunday over cuts in their pay and benefits packages after failing to reach an agreement with the Oil Ministry. Kuwait, an OPEC member, on average pumps 3 million barrels of oil a day.
The strike affected Kuwaiti production and cut slightly into the oil glut now facing the global market, lessening the impact of oil producers failing to reach a freeze agreement this weekend during a meeting in Doha, Qatar. With production now likely to rise with the workers returning to the fields, oil prices could be affected Wednesday.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.