Smart Oil Workers in Qyzylorda Claim Delayed Salaries and Unkept Promises

An Orda.kz journalist visited employees of the Smart Oil drilling plant in Qyzylorda, where workers say they have not been paid on time and are tired of hearing constant promises from management.

According to the workers, salaries are delayed, pension and health insurance contributions are not being transferred, and every inquiry to management ends with the same assurances.

On September 2, dozens of employees gathered near the plant. Among them were men and women who had worked on a rotational basis for more than a decade.

They raised the salary, added 40 thousand. But it's still not enough, everyone has loans. I get 240 thousand. The whole family depends on this money. But they give it out late. They promise after the 10th, but in the end they postpone it until the end of the month. Now they've already delayed it for the second month,
said worker Batyrkhan Aitmyrzaev.

What frustrates people the most, they say, is the constant empty talk.

Since 2023, pension contributions have not been transferred. They are withheld from salaries. Nothing comes to our account. Salaries are also constantly postponed. When we ask, they just promise. They say that everything will be fine soon. But we do not see any improvements,
added Kuanyshbek Toizhan.

Workers also point out the difficult conditions of their jobs. The plant is located in an environmentally unsafe area, and under the law, they should be receiving an additional 5% for hazardous work.

According to employees, these payments have never been made.

Attempts to get comments from the company’s management proved unsuccessful. When the Orda.kz team approached the factory, doors and windows were shut in front of the cameras. Workers who asked whether management would come out were met only with the sound of a lock closing.

For now, many families survive on a salary of 240,000 tenge, and even that is delayed. Management continues to ask employees to “be patient a little longer.”

The workers, however, say they will wait only a few more days before filing complaints with the labor inspectorate.

Company Background

The Qyzylorda Smart Oil plant is part of the business empire of Forbes-listed oligarch Serikzhan Seitzhanov.

Through the company FTPK Ontustik, Seitzhanov and his family control 51% of South Oil, the construction firm MunayKurylysServis, the Standard Cement plant, the chemical company Talas Investment, and a stake in Standard Petroleum & Co. Beyond oil and construction, they also own Rixos hotels in Shymkent and Turkistan, the Satti Zhol gas station chain, the South Kazakhstan Medical Academy, and the Innovative and Technological College.

Original Author: Nazerke Yerkinbekkyzy