March 15, demonstration of the workers of the Hassi R'Mel oil field, Algeria.

In Algeria, the movement against Bouteflika and the corruption of the regime continues. Demonstrations have been taking place since February 22 in many Algerian cities, gathering hundreds of thousands of people.  First mainly led by students, the protests have now been joined by other parts of the population, including workers who took part in a 5 day national-strike that started on March 10.

The call for a national strike was spread on social media and its organisation partly took place independently of union organisations. The strike was joined by teachers, transport workers but also by workers at the oil fields of Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R’mel, owned by the national oil company Sonatrach.

The company employs more than 100 000 people and its production is central for the economy of the country. On March 17, the company issued an official memo to its employees threatening them not to take part to any protest. This memo was ignored by many workers who organised a protest on the same day.