Relatives of the hundreds of oil-industry workers waging a strike and camping outside company headquarters in a volatile western region of Kazakhstan gathered in front of the local mayor's office for a second day on December 16 to support the workers' plight.
They and the roughly 500 workers striking against West Oil Software in Manghystau complain that threats of dismissal have continued since the company's management fired seven strikers on December 13.
A local court has also declared the strike, which began on December 11, illegal.
With many camped out in snow and freezing cold, the workers are demanding the integration of their salary-payment system into that of the national KazMunaiGas energy corporation, as well as the renewal of their work and technical equipment.
They have complained of security forces and riot police surrounding and intimidating them.
Kazakh authorities have for years been sensitive about protests of oil workers in Manghystau, which is home to operations to exploit major oil and gas reserves in the Central Asian state and contributes heavily to the state budget, especially around December 16, which is Kazakh Independence Day.
The strikers marked the national holiday by reading out prayers for those who died during previous labor disputes and other unrest in Kazakhstan's late and post-Soviet history.
Deadly violence that killed at least 238 people and injured thousands in January 2022 began with protests in the Manghystau city of Zhanaozen over rising gas prices. Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev responded to that crisis with a nationwide state of emergency and by allowing troops from the Russia-led CSTO to patrol Kazakh streets.
West Oil Software provides transport services for oil and gas companies in the region.
Police in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, announced beefed-up security "to prevent possible lawlessness and crimes" during Independence Day celebrations.
#NotExtremists, a Telegram channel that monitors human rights violations in Kazakhstan, said on December 15 that at least eight prominent activists were jailed or charged with administrative misdemeanors in recent days.
