Azerbaijani employees of McDermott Caspian Contractors Inc. (MCCI) launched a second strike on 28 November to protest the company management\'s rejection of their demand for higher wages. Some 2,000 Azerbaijani employees of MCCI staged a one-day stoppage last week to demand the same wages as foreign workers with the same qualifications. The strikers rejected an offer by MCCI managers to raise wages by 12 percent beginning in January 2006 but also to increase the working week from 45 hours to 50 hours beginning on 5 December. Workers from a second Western corporation have also joined the strike. (day.az)