Report: Underway Efforts to End Strike of BDL Employees

Intensive contacts are underway to end an open ended strike launched by the syndicate of Banque du Liban employees in a bid to “avoid the repercussions of the strike on the overall banking transactions,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

According to sources quoted by the daily, President Michel Aoun has “encouraged the ongoing efforts in this direction to ensure the resumption of normal movement in the exchange market, the clearing room,where transactions are settled between banks, to prevent a reduction in the circulation volume of Lebanese and foreign currencies in the market,” they said.

The sources pointed out that Aoun's financial and monetary meetings last week with the Governor of BDL, Riad Salameh, and the President of the Association of Banks, Joseph Tarabay, has dealt with “various aspects of cooperation between the banks, the BDL and official institutions.”

The President has reportedly informed concerned parties that BDL’s independence won’t be touched.

Said remarks came in light reports about attempts to control the budget of BDL through Article 60 included in the 2019 draft budget. Said article suggests “subjugating” the private budgets in some public institutions and independent bodies to the Ministry of Finance, without mentioning any exception in relation to BDL.

The syndicate of Banque du Liban employees on Saturday announced an open-ended strike in protest at the government’s possible plans to reduce their salaries and benefits as part of austerity measures to cut the budget deficit.

During its series of budget session to discuss an austere 2019 state budget, the Cabinet on Friday discussed several articles including ones related to reduction in salaries for BDL employees.