GABON: UNION LEADERS WARN OF IMMINENT STRIKES IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000096

SIPDIS

AF/C PLEASE PASS MALABO AND BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV ELAB ECON EPET GB
SUBJECT: GABON: UNION LEADERS WARN OF IMMINENT STRIKES IN
THE OIL SECTOR

REF: A. 08 LIBREVILLE 162

B. 08 LIBREVILLE 386

C. 07 LIBREVILLE 512

D. LIBREVILLE 0076

Classified By: Management Officer Charles Morrill for reasons 1.5 (b) a
nd (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Union leaders in Port Gentil, the center of Gabon's
petroleum production, warn that one or more strikes by oil
workers are imminent. Though splintered into dozens of small
unions and five overlapping confederations, labor leaders in
the petroleum sector are united by a cause that may soon
bring them to the picket line--their contention that oil
companies are ignoring (and the government is not enforcing)
legislation passed specifically to mollify oil workers after
their last strike in 2008. Gabon produces about 250,000
barrels of oil per day and Gabon is Africa's sixth largest
exporter of oil to the United States. End Summary.

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Strikes "Imminent"?
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2. (C) Petroleum is Gabon's economic lifeblood, and an
industry beset by periodic labor problems (Refs. A-C). On
recent visits to Port Gentil, emboffs met with the regional
leaders of Gabon's five primary labor organizations,
including the Organization Nationale des Employees du Petrole
(ONEP). Though Gabon's labor movement has traditionally been
splintered into overlapping confederations of unions, oil
workers recently came together informally under the ONEP
umbrella. Sylvain Pamlou, spokesperson for ONEP, said that
another strike among oil workers is likely soon. The leaders
of the other four confederations concurred.


3. (C) A strike by workers at Gabon's key oil terminal shut
down about one quarter of Gabon's oil production for 12 days
in 2008 (Ref. A). After we spoke to ONEP officials, they
notified the government that workers at a key oil refinery in
Port Gentil would begin a strike on March 13 unless worker
demands are met. Another oil industry source told us that
two oil producers have been advised that their workers are
also threatening to strike. It was not immediately clear
which of these strikes will take place, or what impact they
will have on overall production. A strike at the local
refinary would seriously interfere with the supply of
petroleum products to Gabon's domestic market.


4. (C) Pamlou explained that the widespread use of workers
on short-term contracts is at the heart of current
grievances. In an effort to end strikes and other labor
actions stretching back to 2006, the government passed the
Contract Workers Law in January 2008. This law established
contract workers' right to strike and required employers to
provide contract workers with some benefits and training. It
also obliged companies to convert temporary workers into
regular employees after two years of continuous employment.
With the status of regular employees, former contractors
would be entitled to higher wages, a pension, and full health
benefits. Prior to this legislation, contract workers could
be employed for an unlimited period of time and dismissed at
any time. According to union officials, some contract
workers in the petroleum industry have worked for up to 18
years have been let go without advance notice or severance
packages.


5. (C) Union leaders complained that the Contract Workers
Law is not being enforced. Though the law was promulgated in
direct response to the concerns of oil workers, it applies to
all sectors of the Gabonese economy. Union leaders argued
that the Gabonese government often makes grandiose promises
to placate striking workers and then fails to live up to
these promises once the workers return to their jobs. They
cited the case of striking teachers who received concessions
from the government in January in order to return to the
classroom. Like the oil workers, the teachers claim the
government has failed to keep its promises, and they are once
again threatening to strike (Ref. D).


6. (C) Interviewed separately, one senior oil company
official admitted that some companies in the oil industry
continue to make widespread use of contract workers. He
claimed that his company respects the new law, but others do
not. He explained that some companies, particularly in the
oil services industry, experience fluctuating demand for

LIBREVILLE 00000096 002 OF 002


labor as production levels and other factors change.

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Government Promises Unkept
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7. (C) Labor leaders complained that the upper ranks of both
oil companies and the government are filled with people with
family, political or social ties to Gabonese President El
Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba. The leaders argued that many
government leaders have conflicts of interest since (as
shareholders in the oil companies) they are more concerned by
the financial health of the companies than the well-being of
the workers. In addition to individual holdings, the
Gabonese government also has an important stake in some oil
operations. For instance, the government holds a 25 percent
interest in Shell Gabon, with the remainder owned by
Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell. Shell is Gabon's
largest oil producer.


8. (C) Union leaders in Port Gentil also complained that the
government does not give labor inspectors the financial
resources, or the regulatory and enforcement tools needed to
implement the new law. They said the labor inspectors
themselves had recently gone on strike, in part because they
are not empowered to carry out their work. Other leaders,
however, claim that labor inspectors are frequently bribed by
employers to ignore poor labor conditions. And media reports
from the time of the labor inspector strike indicated that
their primary stated demand was to receive their fair share
of Ministry of Labor-wide bonuses, which strikers claimed
were being embezzled by top Ministry officials.


9. (C) Finally, like union leaders in other sectors (Ref.
D),leaders in the petroleum sector believe that oil
companies and the Gabonese government earned enormous profits
during the period of high oil prices in 2008. Oil company
union representatives say they understand that Gabon's oil
production will gradually decline absent new discoveries and
favorable economic conditions. They explained that it is
precisely for this reason that they need to win concessions
now, while production is still strong.

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Comment
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10. (C) A predicted strike action in at least one part of
Gabon's petroleum industry could begin as early as March 13.
With five umbrella organizations having overlapping
membership, the Gabonese labor movement is splintered and
generally weak. However, government's failure to enforce
previous labor agreements has led to greater unity among
workers in some key sectors--including petroleum, the bedrock
of the Gabonese economy. End Comment.
REDDICK