 The strike of oil workers continues in Kazakhstan. Protests against the detention and forced removal of about 130 Kazakh oil industry workers from the capital Astana interrupted operations at a regional subsidiary of Kazmonegaz, a state-controlled oil and gas-holding company. Operations were disrupted at the regional oil subsidiary Ozenmonegaz in the Mangistar region. The holding company said the workers were detained after staging their own protest outside the head office of Kazmonegaz in Astana earlier this week. They said they were representing hundreds of oil field service workers from Zanoazen who have to periodically terminate and renew their employment each time Ozenmonegaz tenders for contracts. In their social media posts, the workers complained that dismissed workers are forced to sign new terms with each new contractor losing benefits such as the right to claim regular paid leave. Riot police packed the protesters into buses by force on the evening of April 11th after they had refused to disperse after a meeting with Kazmonegaz executives. On April 12th, a group of employees representing an oil field service company based in Zanoazen were apprehended in Astana for engaging in an unsanctioned rally spending nearly 24 hours in front of the premises of the nation's energy ministry. The individuals in question are currently subject to administrative charges. Regional media reported protests in other cities including Akhtar and Urals to demand the release of oil workers detained in Astana. The workers said they lost their jobs after their company had lost a tender for oil work in the energy-rich western region of Mangistol recently. Speaking, Kazakhstan's recently appointed energy minister Almasadam Satkaliyev refused to meet with protesters or negotiate a solution. If they want to spend their night in the street, this is their decision, he said.