OMV: Movement in the neglected region of southern Tunisia is fighting for jobs

In the activists' catalog of demands, the withdrawal of layoffs from the Austrian energy giant OMV, which is involved in the exploitation of the Nawara gas field in southern Tunisia, has now also been included. The group had fired 14 employees without notice and fired ten more for disciplinary reasons. The staff resisted, launched two strikes and referred to a statement by the Ministry of Social Affairs that the layoffs were illegal. However, the company is now apparently ready to negotiate. Compensation is to be offered to the 14 people who have been dismissed without notice, and the ten others have been promised jobs in another OMV project, according to trade union circles. The UGTT and the workers concerned initially rejected the offer.

Source: https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/382769.%C3%B6lindustrie-lahmgelegt.html

Starting tomorrow: Tataouine general strike

Al-Kamour sit-in coordination held today, Thursday 02 July 2020, a joint meeting with the Regional Labor Union of Tataouine, as a reaction to the backdrop of the decisions of the Ministerial Council held yesterday, according to what the Nessma correspondent in the region said.

A member of the Executive Bureau of the Labor Union in Tataouine, Mohsen Al-Harrashani, confirmed to Nessma TV correspondent in Tataouine, declaring public anger in the state starting  Friday, with stopping all services of all kinds, whether in the city center or in the desert, with the exception of vital sectors and respect for all national exam procedures.

Petroleum plants will also be closed from Saturday until a government delegation has moved to the region to find radical solutions to the development situation, while entering into an open strike in the region starting from tomorrow.

Libya: production of al-Charara oil field again blocked

The important al-Charara oil field, production of which had just resumed, was again blocked following an attack by an "armed group", the National Oil Company (NOC) said on Tuesday ).
The attack was carried out by an armed group from Sebha (south) that stormed the al-Charara oil field on Monday evening, the NOC said in a statement.

The oil field had been blocked in January by the Haftar camp, which intended to use this file as a lever in talks with the government, recognized by the UN, based in Tripoli.

The al-Charara field, in the region of Oubari (about 900 km south of Tripoli), normally produces 315,000 barrels per day, out of a national production of more than a million barrels per day, according to the national company.

It is managed by Akakus, a joint venture between NOC, Spanish Repsol, French Total, Austrian OMV and Norwegian Statoil.

Source: Maghreb Emergent

Tataouine-Strike: Production suspended in Nawara and El Waha fields

(TAP) - Production at the Nawara gas and El Waha oil fields in Tataouine, operated by the Austrian company OMV, was suspended Tuesday at midnight, following a 3-day workers' strike from June 3 to 5.
This strike was decided by the General Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Products, after the dismissal of 23 executives and permanent and contractual workers in an arbitrary manner, according to the strike notice published on May 18.
This action was decided after the failure of the conciliation session held at the seat of the General Labour Inspectorate, in the absence of the company's management, according to the federation's press release.
The demands of the union stipulate the reinstatement of the dismissed workers, the cessation of deductions from the salaries of executives and workers carried out without consulting the union, as well as the restitution of the April levies, member of the regional labour union Adnen Yahyaoui told TAP.
The strike notice also mentions a halt to the replacement of permanent executives and workers by temporary workers who cost more.

Source: TAP
 

British Gas Tunisia sets teleworiking for office based staff

BG Tunisia, in an internal communication letter, did ask all the office employees to keep working from home without any details becoming the first oil and gas company n the country to go full throttle telecoworking in the county while most of the other companies are calling back non-field personnel starting June 15 and that's after a mandatory medical examination as a safety measure.

As a reminder: Tunisia’s nationwide lockdown began March 22, when it had just 75 confirmed cases. The UK, by contrast, did not impose a national lockdown until it had over 6,000 cases, while Italy did not go ahead with the measure until it recorded more than 9,000. Tunisia also took the early step of quarantining patients with mild symptoms in designated facilities such as hotels rather than allowing them to isolate at home as in Italy — a policy that doctors now say was a fatal flaw. [Al Monitor]

OMV Tunisia union annonces a general strike with a production halt until further order

Tunisia: Personnel of Oil Company OMV in strike for 3 days starting from tomorrow

The main basic unions of the oil company OMV, affiliates of the UGTT (Tunisian General Labour Union) have announced this Tuesday the starting of a three-day strike on June 3rd, 4th and 5th, 2020, with a stop in production on the sites of Tunis, Gabes and Tataouine.

In a release communicated to Tunisie Numérique, the unions have stated that “ this decision was made following the failure of a reconciliation session at the General Work Inspection in Tunis, not having taken into account the warning notice for the strike issued by the UGTT for the 3rd, 4th and 5th June 2020, facing the managing board’s rejective attitude towards the reintegration of workers within their former positions.”

The release specified:“ we have decided the implementation of a strike in all the sites in Tunis, Gabes and Tatatouine.”

The unions have condemned “ the threatening actions taken by the managing director towards senior officers and agents, in addition to his absence in the reconciliation session.”

The unions hold accountable the management section of the company for the deterioration of the social climate.

Press release - OMV open strike

Tunis June 2nd, 2020 - The 3 OMV unions (Tunis, Gabès and Tataouine) representing the employees of the Austrian oil company OMV announce a general strike on June 4, 5 and 6 with production shutdown expandable in cases of non-return of our colleagues retained to resume their work wrongly for more than a month.


The OMV company holding more than 5 exploration and production licenses for oil fields in Tataouine including the mega-project Nawara which will supply 20% of the country's needs in Natural Gas and which has already been inaugurated by the Tunisian authorities 3 times in having actually entered production, decided legally and against all the laws in force in the Tunisian country to lay off more than 20% of these Tunisian executives.


The dismissal took place in full confinement despite the DGT instructions of March 17, 2020, relating to the processing of requests for authorization to dismiss or transfer the employment contract of protected employees during the crisis period linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and seems not to be in good standing since it uses a CCL issued by the labor inspectorate when the office has just been in favor of voluntary departure which was already the case for a dozen employees a month ago.


The labor inspectorate, after an examination of the case, ruled that this act is not in accordance with Tunisian laws although the general manager of OMV Tunisia Wilhelm Sackmaier who persists in ignoring the customs of Tunisia in the field of work and this after more than 10 meetings between UGTT, Labor Inspectorate and the Minister of Energy if as the country had no real authority on its territory and that any attempt to reason it only made it even more determined to execute his vision and not respect the Tunisian authorities.


The union calls on the employees of the company and our colleagues in the energy sector in Tunis, Gabès and Tataouine to come in large numbers on June 3, 4 and 5 to demand the UNCONDITIONAL return of our dear colleagues in front of the premises of the company located Rue du Lac Turkana, Tunis 1053.

OMV Emplyees enter an open strike amid lay off of 20% of its empoyees at the covi19 locakdown

Tunisian General Labor Union
 
OMV Tunisia union in three locations Tunis Gabes and Tataouine »After the reconciliation session of the General Labor Inspectorate in Tunis failed to consider the strike threat telegram issued by the Tunisian General Labor Union, are declaring an open strike starting June 3rd with production stops. In front of the administration's adherence to its position rejecting returning workers to their previous activities, we decided:

• Implementation of the strike in all worksites in Tunis, Gabes and Tataouine
• To condemn the actions of the general manager regarding a threat to tires and currency, in addition to his absence from the conciliatory session
• We hold the company's management the nature of muddying the social climate.

Austrian company supervising the gas project in the south may have to leave Tunisia

According to the Tunisian daily Al Chourouk, the Austrian oil and gas company "OMV" holding over 8 concessions as Cherouq, Ashtart and in charge of the 370 Km pipeline project called "Nawara" funded by a 500 Euros lean from the European Bank may have to leave the country  and end its relationship with the project. It is noteworthy in this context, that the liquefied gas project of the South, suffers from many difficulties and disruptions that caused the continuing delay in completion of the project, and this delay candidate to connect more than another year at least. It complained of many obstacles and difficulties that have hampered its success in the completion of this huge project suffering from administrative delays, as well as the lack of profitability of the project because of the ongoing decline in oil prices in global markets.

About OMV Tunisia
Tunisia has an important place in the history of OMV, since it was the site of the project the first international exploration and production of OMV in 1971. Since then, Tunisia has become an important component of the central region North Africa with the acquisition of the international activities of Preussag in 2003 and strengthened its position with the acquisition of Pioneer in 2011.