Manama: The leader of the customs strike in Kuwait has denied claims that the employees have agreed to resume work on the second day of their industrial action.
"I challenge anyone who says that the strike is over. It is continuing with a 100 per cent participation," Ahmad Al Anezi, the customs employees union chairman, said, quoted by Al Aan news portal.
On Monday, all vessel traffic in and out of Kuwaiti ports was suspended and oil tanker traffic came to a standstill as Kuwait customs union went on strike. The employees demanded salary increments equal to those of their peers in other lines of work.
Attempts to call off the strike by officials failed to change the stance of the demonstrators who claimed that earlier pledges to improve their conditions were not honoured.
Reports circulating in Kuwait on Tuesday morning said that life resumed normally at all the exit and entry points of the country after the employees ended their strike.
However, Al Anezi said such reports were unfounded.
"We will be on strike until we get all our rights," Al Anezi said. "We are not in a standoff with the government. The strike is simply to ask for our rights. We have been asking them for two months now and we have used official channels to secure our rights," he said.
A spokesperson for the oil sector on Tuesday said that "the export of Kuwaiti crude oil and by-products via the national ports to the international markets was proceeding as normal."
Shaikh Talal Al Khalid Al Ahmad Al Sabah, also the managing director of the government and parliamentary relations of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, "assured the corporation clients about its keenness on securing their needs for the crude supplies and oil derivatives according to the contracts," Kuwait News Agency reported.
