EDL Contract Workers Protest Near Company Premises

Electricite du Liban daily contract workers staged a sit-in on Tuesday near the company's premises to pressure the government into a long-standing demand that makes them full-time employees and to protest the finance ministry's failure to address their concerns during its meeting the previous day.

Lebnan Makhoul, a member of the EDL contract workers committee, told VDL (100.5): “The electricity crisis is open. Officials have been ignoring the demands of 1000 contract workers who have not received their salaries for the last three month.”

The workers have warned on Monday of planning to escalate their movements following a meeting between the finance minister and energy minister that failed to tackle their longtime demands.

Al-Akhbar daily said “the renewed movement of workers had received a green light from the Amal movement.”

General Confederation of Lebanese Workers chief Beshara al-Asmar said: “Things are going in a positive direction regarding the contract workers. An agreement similar to the one reached for EDL workers must be reached for EDL contract workers.”

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil and the syndicate of Electricité du Liban workers held talks a day earlier and announced that a positive result has been reached in the issue of the new wage scale of EDL workers. The interlocutors did not touch on the requests of EDL contract workers.

Demanding their inclusion in the new wage scale, EDL workers went on a strike over the past few days which led to lengthy power cuts in several regions.