2 Casino Board Members Quit as Crisis Parties Reject Qazzi Initiative

Two members of Casino du Liban's board of directors submitted their resignations on Friday against the backdrop of a growing crisis that was triggered by the dismissal of 191 contract employees, as both parties rejected an initiative proposed by Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi.

“George Nakhle and Hisham Nasser have resigned from the board of directors of Casino du Liban,” several TV networks and Change and Reform bloc MP Simon Abi Rabia announced.

In a bid to resolve the crisis, Minister Qazzi headed in the evening to the casino's entrance, where the dismissed employees have been staging an open-ended sit-in for days now.

He invited the representatives of the employees and the board of directors to a meeting at the ministry on Tuesday “to discuss the fate of the laid-off employees.”

“Political decisions have nothing to do with bread, sickness and maternity. The uprising today is not only over the employees' rights but also to separate the casino from politics, to which it has been confined for decades,” said Qazzi at a press conference from the casino's gates.

“The compensations that were given are insufficient and you cannot abandon people who have health problems,” the minister added.

He noted that the sacked employees are not only “paying the price” of the board of directors' decisions, “but also that of the politicians' decisions.”

“It is prohibited to take measures against any new or old employee at the casino if they are attending and working,” Qazzi underlined.

“No one can say that the decision cannot be reversed ... All things can be reconsidered,” Qazzi stressed.

He then proposed launching “15-day negotiations as of Tuesday between the casino's board of directors and the dismissed employees, during which all decisions would be frozen, including the dismissal decision, and the casino would resume its operations.”

However, the initiative was swiftly dismissed by both the employees and the board of directors, according to several TV networks.

Earlier on Friday, several politicians delivered speeches at the sit-in in support of the laid-off employees.

“We will not allow this massacre to continue and we declare our support for everyone without any discrimination and we extend our hands to the officials to resolve the issue,” ex-MP Farid al-Khazen said.

“The rights of the dismissed employees come before anything else and for the sake of these rights we tell you: we will keep standing by you and we won't settle before the rights return to their owners. As for the negligent and violating employees, they don't enjoy anyone's cover,” Khazen added.

“I advise you not to test the people of Keserwan because their history of standing by the right is well-known. Today, Keserwan is fully ready to defend the bread of the poor,” the former lawmaker warned.

He also vowed that the sit-in will not be suspended before the board of directors reverses its “unjust decisions.”

For his part, MP Abi Ramia said: “The beginning of the end has started and we say thank you to George Nakhle and Hisham Nasser who have submitted their resignations.”

“The board of directors is about to collapse and the employees are on the verge of victory,” Abi Ramia declared.

Earlier in the day, the sacked employees erected tents at the entrance of the facility after they vowed to continue their strike without blocking roads or burning tires.

“Our escalation is limited to the premises of the casino,” head of the union of Casino du Liban employees Hadi Chehwan said in comments to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).

He pointed out that the syndicate will exert its efforts to push forward the resignation of the casino's board of directors.

“We have been informed that the board members will try to open the casino's doors by force tonight,” Chehwan revealed.

On Tuesday, Casino du Liban's board of directors laid off 191 contract employees, which prompted the sacked workers to shut down the vital tourist attraction after they described the move as arbitrary.

The casino's management has argued that majority of the discharged employees were receiving salaries without reporting to work.

Qazzi had failed on Thursday night to reach a deal with the head of the board of directors, Hamid Kreidieh.

“We failed to reach an agreement over the formation of a committee headed by the Labor Minister and comprised of representatives of both parties to discuss the crisis,” the minister said.

However, Qazzi stressed in comments to al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday that he would continue endeavors with Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, Mohammed Shoaib, head of INTRA Investment Co., which owns 52% of the casino's shares, and Kreidieh to reach common grounds.

“I haven't lost hope yet,” the minister remarked, stressing that the casino's management should have negotiated with the employees before making such a move.

H.K./Y.R.