Kuwait bourse employees postpone strike to Oct 19

Kuwait bourse employees postpone strike to Oct 19

Strike plans delayed to allow minister to meet job status demands; A strike could affect trading on second-largest Arab bourse

September 28, 2011 11:04 by Reuters

Employees of Kuwait Stock Exchange agreed on Tuesday to give authorities three weeks to meet their demands, a representative said, delaying a planned strike which could affect trading on the Arab world’s second largest bourse.

“Our reaction will be stronger in three weeks, after giving them a chance to implement the law,” Sami al-Mujel, the head of the financial analysis department, told an employee meeting.

The new date set for the strike is October 19.

The strike, initially planned for Wednesday, aims to push for the implementation of an article of the law for the Gulf Arab state’s newly formed Capital Markets Authority (CMA), which calls for the transfer of bourse employees to the CMA.

The CMA bylaws came into effect in March, but are still not fully implemented.

Mujel said the minister of trade and industry, who heads the bourse committee, promised to settle the employment conditions of the stock market employees within three weeks, and asked for the strike plans to be suspended until then.

A strike would include employees from all departments, including trading technicians, and would halt trading, Mujel said. (Reporting by Eman Goma; Editing by Firouz Sedarat)