State-run Kuwait Airways cancelled more flights on Sunday as a strike by workers calling for better pay went into a second day, in the latest round of industrial action to hit the tiny Gulf state. The carrier was forced to cancel seven flights on Sunday, spokesman Adel Boursli told state-run agency KUNA. It cut nine flights on Saturday after employees started their walkout.
The government announced a 25 percent rise in pay for state workers last week but several unions have said the measures did not go far enough. Around 3,000 customs workers also went on strike at Kuwait's borders and ports last week with similar demands for higher pay. The airline's 4,000 unionised workers last walked out in October and were able to secure a 30 percent pay rise, according to figures quoted in local media. The recent round of industrial action across the OPEC member state does not appear to have halted oil exports as it did in a wave of strikes last year.
Policymakers and economists say that while Kuwait can afford such pay increases in the short term, thanks to the high oil price, it risks longer-term imbalances if the cycle of strikes and pay hikes continued.