touch and Alfa employees begin open-ended strike

The employees of Lebanon’s two state-owned mobile network operators, touch and Alfa, on Thursday began an open-ended strike to demand a wage hike, after their negotiations with the two firms’ administrations collapsed.

“All of Alfa and touch’s branches and selling points closed at the companies’ headquarters and in the various regions, as the sale of lines and recharge cards and customer services stopped and all maintenance works were suspended,” the National News Agency said.

The employees’ syndicate had declared the strike overnight as it welcomed “any efforts that contribute to finding a solution that would preserve employees’ full rights.”

The employees are demanding the wage hike in light of the recent increase in the fees collected by the two companies.