Threats to terminate workers for participating in union activities were made by the chief of the highest legislative body of the Kuwaiti Government. In March 2012, a senior state official, Al-Saraawi, head of the Religious Edict and Legislation Department, suggested that protesting workers from the Customs Department and Kuwait Airways be dismissed en masse for participating in a week long work stoppage. Al-Saraawi stated that the government may take disciplinary measures against workers whose strike has a negative impact on the interests of the public. Abdurrahman Al-Sumait, Head of the National Union of Kuwait Workers and Employees, expressed his disappointment at the statements which violate international obligations signed by Kuwait.