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Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Workers on more than one oilfield in Libya are asking for an increase in salary. Oil workers at the El Sharara field and two others are demanding a salary increase of two-thirds. Some 50 to 60 workers at El Sharara, wearing blue jumpsuits, appeared in a video demanding a salary hike of 67%.
According to a statement on the NOC website, the 67% salary increase was included in its 2019 operating budget submission to the Government of National Accord (GNA) on December 5, 2018. The statement went on to say that the state-run firm has “continually advocated for the pay increase since 2013 in both written and verbal representations to government during various meetings with the Budget Committee and the Deputy Minister of Finance held this year. However, the increase was omitted from the budget.
In the statement on the NOC website, the state-run firm called for the decision to omit due compensation for workers to be “rectified forthwith with the pay increase to be included.”
NOC chairman, Eng. Mustafa Sanalla, met with the President of the Union of Oil and Gas Workers Saad Dinar el Fakhri on March 24 to discuss a roadmap that will help ensure the deserved pay-rise is approved in parity with other numerous recently adopted public sector pay increases, such as for education, healthcare, defense and the interior.
The Chairman urged employees to ensure that frustrations on this issue are expressed constructively and without harm to the public interest. The NOC Board stands in solidarity with staff and will not rest until they are afforded what is rightfully owed.
According to the NOC Chairman: “The NOC Board understands the pressure on government finances and the need for a balanced budget. NOC staff, however, continue to support the national recovery more than any other, with their efforts resulting in a five-year annual revenue high in 2018. Oil sector workers continue to fulfil their national duty for the benefit of all Libyans, and under the most extreme circumstances. They have been left behind by this decision – despite a number of previous agreements. Libyan public sector pay decisions should be based on proper transparency and fairness.”
The President of the Oil and Gas Workers Union stated that increased compensation for the oil sector should be an undisputed right given worker sacrifices for the sake of Libyan oil production stabilization, the promotion of the Libyan economy and the national recovery.
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