Security Forces Heavily Deploy near EDL Headquarters in Beirut

Security forces deployed heavily on Friday near Electricite du Liban’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael in Beirut in case the contract workers escalated their measures to protest the delay in their full-time employment and salaries payment.

Media reports said that the strict security boost near the company is plainly a “precautionary measure” to prevent the contract workers from forcing the shutting of the cash registers.

The contract workers have been forcing the close of the cash registers in the company’s headquarters for the past two days causing panic among employees and clients.

EDL’s general manager Kamal al-Hayek denied to LBC that the security forces had deployed near the company under his request.

The television reported that the interior ministry ordered the Internal Security Forces to deploy near the EDL building to re-open the public facility to facilitate the citizens’ transactions.

The contract workers warned in comments to LBC that they will take “unprecedented” escalatory measures if their salaries were not paid before Monday.

The parliament’s approval earlier this month of a decision taken by the joint parliamentary committees to permanently employee EDL contract workers created a rift between the March 8 allies, as the Free Patriotic Movement accused Hizbullah of being a “spectator” while Speaker Nabih Berri of violating the protocol.

The Christian lawmakers boycotted the parliament to protest the approval of the joint parliamentary committee’s arguing that the permanent employment of those workers would destabilize the sectarian balance at EDL as around 80 percent of them belong to non-Christian sects and most of them support Berri, who is a Shiite.

EDL contract workers, who will have to sit for a closed exam, which will be held by the Civil Service Board, have been holding an open-end strike for the last three months.