Zhanaozen: KazMunayGas Rejects Striking Workers' Demands

KazMunayGas has officially responded to striking workers at the OzenMunaiGas JSC enterprise in Zhanaozen. KMG has rejected their demands, Orda.kz reports .

KMG notes that the demands of the OzenMunayGas workers’ union do not comply with accepted standards.

The direct hiring of children of pensioners (former employees) of OMG as staff violates the current employment algorithm approved in 2020. According to the algorithm, children of pensioners of OzenMunayGas are employed equally with unemployed citizens in a 50/50 ratio,
 KMG emphasized.

The company noted that the requirement to "pass down" production jobs and to create new ones specifically for oil workers' children violates other unemployed people's rights on the employment waiting list.

The national company also responded that OzenMunayGas already has a program that allows workers to retire earlier and employ a relative in their place. The payments for workers who leave due to health reasons are already relatively high.

The amount of the payment is calculated based on the MCI depending on the employee's length of service and the number of months remaining until retirement. At the same time, the maximum amount - 125 MCI (461.5 thousand tenge in 2024) is set for employees with over 40 years of service. An employee who has worked at OMG for more than 40 years, upon early retirement at 60 years old, receives 16.6 million tenge, KMG indicated.

The national company believes that OzenMunayGas has already created reasonable conditions for retiring employees, and the enterprise's social support is among the highest.

KMG also stated that over the past two years, more than 22 billion tenge had been invested in upgrading equipment at OzenMunayGas, and the plan for 2029 was to allocate over 53 billion tenge for these purposes.

Therefore, there is no point in building an additional facility per the demands made.

KazMunayGas also refused the union's request to return the old version of the collective agreement, according to which the employer paid income tax and pension contributions for oil workers.

Currently, taxes are withheld from OzenMunayGas workers' pay, as the law requires. Since July, the company has been developing a new, more flexible, and fair wage system.

KMG also explained why they would not raise the categories of well operators and repair operators or include a 30% salary increase in the collective agreement.

Per law, a 30% increase is due upon combining positions, expanding the service area, or performing additional functions.

OzenMunayGas's salaries are indexed every year, and they are currently higher than those of other oil-producing enterprises in the region.

Negotiations with striking union members are ongoing.

First Deputy Chair of the Board of KMG Kurmangazy Iskaziyev has been in Zhanaozen since the first day of demands from OMG employees, KMG emphasized.

On November 13, a video emerged showing OzenMunayGas workers protesting in Zhanaozen.

Workers demanded higher wages and the creation of new jobs for retired employees' children. 

Original Author: Nikita Drobny