Kazakhstan: Oil services company cracks down on strikers with mass firings, 28 February 2024

An oil services company in western Kazakhstan whose operations have been hampered by a strike that began in December has escalated the standoff by announcing that it will dismiss 50 employees involved in industrial action. 

The firings, announced by West Oil Software on February 27, represent the company's largest mass dismissal since the strike started.

The company has stated that the strike is costing it millions of dollars daily, with the financial damage to date around 1 billion tenge ($2.2 million). It cited a December court ruling, which declared the protest unlawful, as the legal basis for the dismissals.

“For the vacant positions that appear, we will recruit from among the citizens currently seeking employment,” the company said in a statement.

Meanwhile, West Oil Software has sought to sow discord among the strikers by pledging that even dismissed employees are eligible to get their jobs back before any new hires. The company urged holdouts to follow the example of their 120 or so colleagues who crossed the picket line. More dismissals will follow if the strike persists, West Oil Software warned...