Workers will not block foreign airlines
KUWAIT CITY: Workers from the publicly-owned Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) will continue a strike that has forced the cancellation of dozens of flights, but pledged to allow international carriers to fly in and out of the country, union officials said Monday.
"We are continuing with our strike," despite a government pledge to increase workers' wages by 25 percent, disclosed union chief Abdullah Al-Hajri.
Al-Hajri confirmed the union will continue to insist on a 30 percent pay raise for airline employees. This came after 14 flights were cancelled Monday.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the union Hussein Saleh told a local daily the airline employees, who began their strike on Saturday withdrew an earlier threat to block all air traffic from Kuwait International Airport. "To protect our national interests, we will allow all other airlines to work. We will not disrupt them," he said.
Customs service employees, on the other hand, took a similar action last week and this has affected the delivery of fresh produce. Consumers have started observing a 15 percent increase in the price of fruits and vegetables.
In the meantime, the customs and Kuwait Airways strikes seem to have reached an impasse. Dozens of flights have been cancelled, and while there seemed to be a chance at resolving this earlier, things stagnated after HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, refused to meet the representatives of Kuwait Airways and the customs labor unions unless the strikes are suspended.
The issue has gone to the cabinet and reached parliament Monday morning, but has yet to be resolved. The Administrative Board of the Workers Union of Kuwait airways issued a statement, saying that "We affirm the willingness of the Administrative Board for cooperation through our consent to HH the Prime Minister's request to meet speakers from the two unions. The union agreed to meet HH in the presence of a number of fellow representatives to conduct research into the legitimate demands, which the government agreed to in October 2011, which was represented through the signature of the Minister of Communications Salem Al Othainah, and a member of the board of directors of Kuwait Airways, Mohammed Al Hallal on the agreement concluded by the union on 24/11/2011. After the union representatives made their way to Parliament on Monday morning along with the speakers, we were surprised, without previous warning, by HH's cancellation of the meeting with the excuse that he does not wish to meet the representatives unless they suspend the strikes."
The strike is said to have caused losses amounting to millions of dinars and the recent developments were observed despite the refusal of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to meet the leaders of the KAC and Customs labor unions unless they end the protest action. The government remains firm in its stand to fully support the decision taken by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) concerning the salary increment, which the executive authority has approved without any amendment. It has also confirmed its attendance to the emergency parliamentary session slated for Thursday to give a detailed explanation on the issue.
In the meantime, the ministerial committee tasked to monitor the wave of protest actions held a meeting presided over by the prime minister to look into reports on the latest developments and the losses incurred, in addition to the proposed recruitment of some youths to work in place of the protesters.
On the other hand, 12 lawmakers have requested for an emergency legislative session to discuss the issue with the intention to propose 35 percent increment for the workers and 25 percent for retirees.
The lawmakers recommended payment of benefits to private sector employees according to their academic certificates, as recommended by the CSC without further delay.
MP Musallam Al-Barrak disclosed the Prime Minister was willing to discuss with labor leaders but government backed out later, noting that another meeting will be held later for the same purpose.
MP Adel Al-Damkhi said, the lawmakers do not encourage strike actions, while they are against disregarding people's interests, but there should be job description.
MP Ammar Al-Ajmi said affirmed the Thursday emergency session will focus on salary structure and increment. He called for issuing a law to discourage strikes, because it is illogical for workers to embark on strike whenever they demand for increment.
Finance Committee Rapporteur MP Ahmad Lari revealed the Finance Minister forwarded a letter to invite the committee to a meeting over strike actions on Wednesday.
The Director General of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Fawaz Al-Fareh affirmed the cancellation of Kuwait Airways flights will not affect international airline flight activities at Kuwait International Airport. He said 44 Arab and foreign aviation companies, in addition to Al-Jazeera Airways, operate flights in the airport on regular basis.
Meanwhile, the Customs workers strike has negatively affected postal movement in the country, resulting in the accumulation of packages and mails at Kuwait International Airport and various post offices, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources from the Ministry of Communications.
Sources admitted the ministry is currently facing difficulties in itemizing the incoming and outgoing letters due to the pileup, causing communication problems to companies, citizens and residents.
In another development, the Kuwait Medical Laboratory Workers Syndicate has presented a number of demands, including the approval of the pay raise scheme endorsed earlier by the Ministry of Health and referred to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
In a press statement, the syndicate revealed the proposed increment is aimed at making its members' salary equal to that of the pharmacologists and other laboratory workers. It has also requested payment of cash incentives to head technicians with the following job titles: head of specialists, senior specialist and specialist.
The syndicate also asked for restructuring the medical laboratory sector and allowing it to participate in the process of streamlining jobs, in addition to the work shifts.
© Arab Times 2012
