Kuwait airways workers strike

Manila Bulletin
October 26, 2011


KUWAIT CITY - Hundreds of Kuwait Airways Corp. staff began an indefinite strike Monday to demand a pay increase for national workers, disrupting flights of the flag carrier, head of the trade union said.

"We have started an open strike from today. It will continue until the government meets our legitimate demands of raising our wages," Abdullah al-Hajeri told AFP.

State-owned Kuwait Airways cancelled five outbound and five incoming flights to various destinations and more flights were likely to be cancelled.

The loss-making privatisation-bound KAC operates around 25 flights daily using its old fleet of 15 Airbus and two Boeing jets.

Hajeri said that the union had called off a strike that was due to start earlier this month after the government promised to "meet most of the demands immediately, but nothing happened."

The government had agreed to increase the basic salary of all Kuwaiti employees by 30 percent but failed to deliver, said Hajeri, adding that the union has about 4,000 members, half of them nationals.

The union is currently demanding raises for nationals and later it will make similar demands for expatriates, Hajeri said. It was unclear how many foreign workers have joined the strike.

Hajeri said the response so far to the strike call "has been excellent."

He said the union has decided to exempt flights for Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia that will carry thousands of pilgrims next week for the annual hajj pilgrimage.

KAC management however held the trade union responsible for the consequences of the strike, accusing the union of failure to fulfill an agreement reached early October that requires the strike to be put off until November 3.

In a written statement, KAC said the management has agreed to most demands made by the union although implementing the agreement required some time.

The oil-rich Gulf state of Kuwait has been hit by a wave of industrial action amid a major political showdown between the opposition and government in the wake of an alleged corruption scandal involving several MPs and possibly state officials.

Two weeks ago, more than 3,000 customs employees stopped work for two days demanding a pay raise and called off the strike after government promises to meet their demands.