EDL Says Only Parliament Can Meet Demands of Contract Workers

Director-General of state-run Electricite du Liban Kamal al-Hayek urged on Tuesday the company’s contract works to end their strike, stressing that the solution is in the hands of the parliament and not the administration.

“We were the first to propose the full-time employment of the contract workers,” al-Hayek said during a press conference for the board of directors at the Zouk power plant.

The contract workers have been holding a strike for the past three months demanding EDL to pay them their June - July Salaries and grant them their full-time employment.

“The company can’t pay them their salaries as the contracts expired,” al-Hayek revealed.

He reiterated that the company’s branches across Lebanon are occupied and without “any security control.”

He called on the Internal Security Forces to preserve the possessions and documents of EDL, particularly, “if allegations that a fifth column is operating are true.”

Al-Hayek stressed that the employees will not resume their work “as long as the situation remains the same.”

He lashed out at the angry contract workers, saying that their strike “surpassed its peaceful limits.”

“A peaceful and civilized strike doesn’t close off the gates of the company with metal chains and doesn’t jeopardize the freedom of the other employees,” al-Hayek noted.

The strike held by the contract workers escalated on Monday as they closed all the entrances of the company’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael in Beirut with metal chains while the full-time employees staged a counter-protest outside.

The director-general told reporters that EDL isn’t planning to cut off electricity but “we are on the edge of the danger zone… We are doing our best to maintain stability in the electricity supply.”

Al-Hayek said that the laborers aren’t able to repair the electric malfunctions as the company's vehicles are locked in its headquarters in Mar Mikhael.

On Monday, EDL warned that the contract workers’ occupation of the company’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael in Beirut will lead to a power blackout throughout Lebanon.

However, EDL contract workers committee lashed out at the board of directors’ announcement, saying that “if a complete blackout occurred it would be on purpose.”

Concerning the transfer of the bills out of the company’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael on Friday, al-Hayek said that “it was decided by the company’s audit bureau and according to the measures taken by the ISF.”

The contract workers were angered by the move.

Al-Hayek hoped that this stage will pass.