‘Our demand has not changed. There is just one: the publication of a decree regulating the employment of foreign workers and annulling the other texts which are more than 40 years old,’ Hans Landry Ivala, the deputy secretary of the ONEP oil workers union, said on Thursday.
He added if no Gabonese had the skills necessary they were not opposed to foreign workers being hired, but that Gabonese should be given preference if they were trained to do the job.
ONEP, the main in the oil sector and whose strike calls are usually well-followed, said it was not satisfied by government measures announced on Wednesday.
President Ali Bongo Ondimba announced on Wednesday consultations on the conditions of the employment of foreign workers in the oil sector.
He also announced that Gabon would audit the oil industry to ensure oil companies were respecting their agreements and evaluate whether the deals were beneficial to the country.
Oil is the main source of wealth of Gabon, which produces between 220,000 and 240,000 barrels per day. Officially, oil accounts for about 60 per cent of the country’s budget.
France’s Total and British-Dutch group Shell account for 60 per cent of production.