Agricultural Union in Houthi-Controlled Areas Threatens Strike Over Pay Discrimination

The union representing agricultural sector employees in Houthi-controlled governorates has announced escalating field action, protesting what it terms a policy of "starvation and discrimination" enforced by the militia against staff in the agricultural sector, threatening a complete cessation of work across all related offices.

In a statement circulated by agricultural office employees on social media platforms on Sunday, the union gave the leadership of the militia-affiliated Ministry of Agriculture a strict 72-hour ultimatum to address their demands and disburse outstanding dues. The union affirmed that failure to meet these requirements would result in the immediate declaration of a general and comprehensive strike upon the expiration of the deadline.

The union explicitly condemned what it described as a "financial siege" imposed on agricultural employees. The statement revealed that staff have been deprived of receiving even "half-salary"—which the militia disperses sporadically—for a period extending up to five months, while other governmental sectors received their allocations. The union characterized this disparity as a systematic targeting of this specific employee cohort.

This escalation occurs against the backdrop of the Houthi militia continuing to seize state revenues and consistently refusing to disburse employee salaries regularly since its insurgency began in September 2014. The militia employs a discriminatory system for distributing the meager "half-salary," often dispensing it only twice annually, further segmenting employees into various categories, thereby exacerbating the living conditions for hundreds of thousands of families in northern Yemen.