Hundreds of workers at the Velikaya Stena (Great Wall) oil company, owned by a Chinese investor in Kazakhstan’s western Manghystau region, are striking for a pay increase, improved working conditions, and the cancellation of planned layoffs, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported.
The workers, who are located in the Caspian port city of Aqtau, told RFE/RL that they have been on strike since last week. They want President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to intervene in the situation.
Meanwhile, hundreds of workers at another oil company, West Oil Software, in the Manghystau town of Zhetibai, said on January 11 that they had been threatened with dismissal unless they stop their month-long strike.
