Kuwait oil workers union threatens strike over benefits cut

KUWAIT CITY – A union in Kuwait says employees in six oil and petrochemical companies will go on strike next Sunday over their salaries and benefits unless the country's Oil Ministry agrees to their demands.

That's according to a statement Monday signed by the head of Kuwait Oil and Petrochemical Workers Union, Saif al-Qahtani. The statement said that all workers will go on strike Sunday until further notice.

Adel al-Fadhel, speaking on behalf of the Kuwait Oil Company Workers' Union, told The Associated Press that workers made a unanimous decision on the strike after failing to reach common ground with Kuwait's Oil Ministry.

The strike comes amid low global oil prices squeezing Gulf Arab oil producers, like Kuwait. Oil-producing countries plan a meeting in the coming days in Qatar over the prices.