Niger oil refinery workers start 48-hour strike: union

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Workers at Niger's only oil refinery declared a two-day strike on Thursday, effective immediately, over working conditions, a union official said. The West African country's 20,000 barrel per day Zinder refinery is a joint venture between the government and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). "We have informed the oil ministry and I can assure you that our strike is a warning. If nothing is done to satisfy our demands, we will toughen our stance," Elemi Boukar, a union representative at the plant, told Reuters. It was not immediately clear if crude oil processing had been affected by the strike. The plant, located 800 km (500 miles) east of the capital Niamey, processes oil from the CNPC-operated Agadem blocks. It was stopped for planned maintenance in December and resumed normal operations on Jan. 15.