Tripoli, 31 October:
Waha Oil company has denied that oil shipments at its export terminal at Sidra were halted on Monday because . . .[restrict]of staff protests. It said that oil has been flowing at normal levels.
Waha staff in Benghazi had demonstrated on Monday at what they claimed was the marginalization of the company’s branch in the city compared to its Tripoli headquarters. They claimed that the Benghazi branch was being denied the staff it needed to provide adequate services.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Waha employee Awad Al-Bakuri said that a quick solution to the understaffing problem had to be found because it was affecting the company’s overall performance.
Protesters also demanded that the head of the Bengahzi office, Yusef Buzarida, be reinstated and that it be given wider powers and be put under the direct authority of the Waha’s chairman as opposed to the company’s head of transport and services as is currently the case.
Buzarida was quoted by independent Libyan news agency Solidarity Press as saying the company has 3,000 staff in Tripoli compared to just 250 in the eastern office. He called on Waha’s central management to reconsider the applications of over 600 “fully qualified” candidates that had been filed for positions in the Benghazi branch since 2010. The powers of the Benghazi office needed to be expanded, he said, to allow for local management to recruit staff as required. He claimed that Tripoli head office was blocking such efforts despite the company desperately needing to develop its technical expertise. [/restrict]
