wcms_161662

Box 4.1
Workers’ concerns about liberalization at Sonatrach
In March 2001, Sonatrach’s workers went on a 24-hour strike triggered by concerns over the company’s
restructuring. A new hydrocarbon law brought about several changes: Sonatrach would lose its crucial
monopoly position and the company would no longer be both the negotiator and the mandatory partner for
international oil companies operating in Algeria. In the past, this dual function had given Sonatrach the power to
forge advantageous alliances, but also to frustrate the ambitions of foreign firms. All negotiations on future
exploration, production and development contracts are to be conducted by a new national agency. Sonatrach’s
control over all energy data has ended. Contract procedures have been simplified and made more rapid and
transparent. The energy sector is supervised by a new regulatory agency reporting to the Energy Minister. By
forcing it to compete on an equal footing for new acreage in transparent tendering processes, the measures
have deprived Sonatrach of much of its advantage over its international competitors. The fields where
Sonatrach had been the sole operator were to be opened to such tendering. The Government maintained that
nothing in the new hydrocarbon law relates directly to the privatization or restructuring of the various branches
which operate under the Sonatrach umbrella. In addition to the core activities of oil and gas exploration and
production, the company’s interests include transport and distribution, refineries, petrochemicals and oil
services. Of about 120,000 workers employed by Sonatrach, only about 40,000 were engaged in core oil and
gas activities. The Sonatrach road transport company was the largest in Algeria. Sonatrach also provided
catering services at oil sites, as well as housing facilities, and other services. Many of these activities provided
compelling arguments for outsourcing. Despite government assurances, workers were concerned that the new
legislation would only be the first stage of a wider restructuring programme, and with this in mind, most workers
in the energy sector joined a 24-hour strike on 20 March 2001.
Source: “Sonatrach strike adds to reform woes”; Oxford Analytica, 28 Mar. 2001.
140. Industrial action can now more often affect multiple sites in several countries. In 2005, at
the Fawley oil refinery in the United Kingdom, ESSO announced it would recruit foreign
labour for contract maintenance. This announcement led to a solidarity strike by French oil
workers. In Belgium, the company announced cuts of 550 jobs at the ExxonMobil
Chemical Films plant in Virton. 80 French workers of ExxonMobil waged strike action and
demonstrated against the company’s decision to close worksites and make redundant
thousands of workers. 81 The ESSO rationalization plan also provoked a strike in
Thailand, 82 and workers’ solidarity actions took place in Australia. These workers’
internationally consolidated actions were coordinated by ICEM’s ExxonMobil Workers’
83 84
Network.
80 ICEM: “Job cuts, outsourcing for ExxonMobil in Europe” in ICEM InBrief, 17 Oct. 2005.
81
ICEM: “French unions strike to stop ExxonMobil retrenchments” in ICEM InBrief, 16 May
2005.
82 “Esso union supports listing”, in The Nation (Thailand), 20 Oct. 2005.
83
ICEM: Secretariat Report, Fourth ICEM World Congress, Bangkok, Thailand, 22–24 November
2007 (Brussels, ICEM, 2007), pp. 27–28.
84 In November 2008, the Repsol Workers’ Network was created as a collective body to represent
the trade unions in the countries where both Repsol and its subsidiary YPF operate, in order to
discuss labour issues and question involving global corporate policies in Spain and Latin America.
See: “Repsol management formally recognizes workers’ energy network of Spain, Latin
America/Caribbean”, in ICEM Newsletter, 17 Nov. 2008.
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