科威特石油工人罢工结束

CALGARY (Bloomberg) — Kuwait oil workers ended a strike that disrupted output in OPEC’s fourth-largest producer for three days, after the government said it wouldn’t negotiate while the walkout lasted.

Workers resumed their jobs at 7 a.m. local time on Wednesday out of respect for the country’s emir, after successfully showing the importance of their role in the economy, KUNA, the country’s official news agency said, citing a statement from a labor union. The report came soon after Anas Al Saleh, the acting oil minister, said on Alrai television the government wouldn’t hold talks with workers as long as a strike continued.

“The goal in going on strike was to send a clear message,” the Union of Petroleum and Petrochemical Workers said in the letter. “The workers reiterated in their action their role” in the economy, the union said in the statement in Arabic.

The workers went on strike to protest cuts in pay and benefits as Middle Eastern crude exporters reduce subsidies and government handouts. A global glut of crude has pushed prices 30% lower in the past year. Worldwide supply surpassed demand by 1.5 MMbopd in the first quarter, according to the International Energy Agency.