KUWAIT CITY, Sept 21: Several employees from private oil companies and the Ministry of Oil staged a sit-in Wednesday in front of the ministry’s headquarters to demand for the implementation of law No. 28/1969, which stipulates giving them privileges equal to those granted to their counterparts in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries.

According to Chairman of the Union of Private Oil Sector Workers Salem Al-Ajmi, the lives of about 5,000 workers in private oil companies are in danger, but they do not receive any compensation. He claimed the payment of salaries for these workers is sometimes delayed, not to mention their excessive work load. He said these workers have no health insurance, unlike their colleagues at KPC and its subsidiaries. He lamented the Public Authority for Social Security (PASS) does not acknowledge their hard work, while the ministry and KPC have refused to listen to their demands.

Al-Ajmi pointed out these employees had been deprived of their rights despite the issuance of an Amiri decree stipulating equality among all workers in the oil sector. He explained the sit-in was not aimed at demanding for salary increment or the ouster of the government; the workers merely want the approval of rights that they have been deprived of for 42 years.
Accusing Minister of Oil and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs Dr Mohammad Al-Busairi of ignoring the demands of the union, Al-Ajmi revealed the union requested for a meeting with the minister twice but he did not respond. He asked the minister, “If you close your door to us, who will listen to us? Our lives are in danger at work but we do not get even our most basic rights.”

Al-Ajmi also unveiled plans to hold massive protest actions in the coming days if their demands are not met. He said the workers in Ahmadi and Al-Khafji, as well as those in the drilling and production sites, will participate in the demonstrations. He also criticized the lukewarm stand of the lawmakers on the grievances of the workers, asserting even if some of the MPs attended the sit-in, the protesters will not change their minds because they are keen on fighting for their rights.
Clarifying that KPC Chief Executive Officer Farouq Al-Zanki might not be involved in the issue, Al-Ajmi disclosed a senior KPC official allegedly sent a letter to Al-Zanki, informing him that the union is not connected with the oil sector. “If this is true, why did KPC announce in newspapers that the procedures of recruitment are carried out through it?” he asked.