Workers strike in Kuwait, Oman absolute monarchies

This 2008 video says about itself:

Hundreds of ex-pat Asians have gone on strike in Kuwait. The mostly Bangladeshi workforce is asking for better pay and better working conditions for the thousands of Asians working here.

From the World Socialist Web Site today:

Strike of Kuwaiti civil servants enters fifth week

Employees of the Public Institution for Social Security have been on strike for more than a month. Their dispute is in response to the decision of Finance Minister Anas Al Saleh to block an agreement made between staff and management on salary benefits. Al Saleh has refused to negotiate until they return to work.

In a separate dispute, around 60 workers held a second sit-in at an Education Ministry office after storming it. They are protesting the ending of contracts with food suppliers to provide lunch meals to elementary schools. The ending of the contracts led to the loss of 800 jobs held by women.

Also from the World Socialist Web Site today:

Strike by Oman supermarket workers

Around 1,300 staff employed by the Lulu hypermarket chain went on strike Thursday of last week, but returned to work Sunday following negotiations. The Lulu chain operates more than 100 stores throughout the Middle East and India.

Talks brokered by the Ministry of Manpower were held between Lulu management and employee representatives. The workers initially had a list of seven demands, including a pay rise and provision of health insurance on being employed. In the negotiation, the company agreed all workers would be given health insurance coverage from day one of their employment and would look at the wages question.

The agreement also covered a plan for the General Federation of Oman Trade Unions (GFOTU) to arrange training in line with the needs of the company.