Kuwaiti oil and gas sector workers began a strike on 17 April over alleged public sector pay cuts with thousands gathering at Ahmadi to protest against the measures.

The Oil and Petrochemical Industries Workers Confederation announced the strike last week, without revealing how long it would last.

Kuwaiti workers gathered at Ahmadi, the town where state-owned crude producer Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has its headquarters. Non-Kuwaitis did not go on strike, according to reports.

Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, Equate Petrochemical Industries Company and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company are all thought to be affected by the strike.

Kuwait’s Al-Rai newspaper reported that week that Kuwait was preparing to deploy national guard units to run some facilities after the strike was announced.

Oil Minister Anas al-Saleh, in a statement quoted by the official Kuna news agency, urged workers to “give priority to the public interest and resort to reason and wisdom by sitting at the negotiations table”.