Kazakhstan - February 18th, 2022

The battle-hardened oil workers of Kazakhstan return to the fight

For the living wage!
Against work precarization!
For the release of the political prisoners in the hands of the infamous regime and the torturing troops of Putin!

Report from the city of Zhanaozen, the capital of the workers uprising in Kazakhstan:

  "Radio Azattyk - February 18, 2022

New strike of oil workers begins in Kazakhstan

 On February 15, in the Kazakh city of Zhanaozen, where mass protests began in January, workers at the Ozenmunaigas oil company went on strike.  They presented political and social demands to the authorities.

 The protesters gathered on the grounds of the bus station, from where they are usually transported to the oil fields.  In addition to wage increases, they are demanding that the authorities stop torturing and immediately release detained participants in the January demonstrations.

 One of the speakers was Orazbai Tursynbai, leader of the 2011 oil workers' strike.

 “We are saddened by the fact that the peaceful demonstration that started in Zhanaozen in various regions of Kazakhstan turned into a tragedy.  Our condolences to the families of the victims.  The detainees are not terrorists, we demand that the torture be stopped and that they be released!  We demand that the authorities carry out political reforms.  However, we repudiate everything old and stagnant.” New changes are needed, he said.

Employees from all departments of Ozenmunaigas made demands.

 Similar demands were made by Ozenmunaigas electricians and welders.  They say that the work in the oil field also depends on their work, but their salary is lower than the salary of other workers.  "We are asking that our salary for a seven-day shift be equal to the salary of oil workers, increasing by 50 percent," say the electricians.

 Ozenmunaigas, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the Mangistau region, is developing the Uzen and Karamandybas fields.  The company has 16 structural and production divisions.  The company employs more than nine thousand people.

Now workers from three other companies are on strike in Zhanaozen

 Since the beginning of February, there have been protests in the Mangistau region demanding jobs, higher wages and better working conditions.  After partial or total compliance with the requirements, employees of some companies stopped the protest.

 Protests broke out in Zhanaozen in early January following a sharp rise in the cost of liquefied gas, which powers most cars in the region.  Initially, protesters demanded lower fuel prices, then political demands emerged.  The popular slogan was "Shal, ket!"  - "Old man, go away!"  - demanding Nazarbayev's removal from power.

 Against the background of protests in various cities, mainly in Almaty, riots and pogroms with the use of weapons began.  The Kazakh authorities said they were not organized by protesters, but by some trained terrorists from abroad.  They did not provide convincing evidence to support this claim.

 According to official figures, at least 227 people died in the January events.  The authorities have not released the names of the dead, despite calls by human rights activists for the names of the dead to be made public and information on the circumstances of death to be provided.

 During and after the January events, thousands of people were arrested, hundreds were taken into custody on suspicion of terrorism, rioting, theft of weapons and other crimes.  Many of those arrested said they were subjected to severe torture in custody."