EDL Contract Workers Hold Protests over Salaries, Labor Minister Promises Solution

Electricite du Liban contract workers blocked on Tuesday two major roads near Beirut, demanding their full-time employment and the payment of their salaries, but they ended their protest after receiving promises by the labor minister to resolve their problem.

The angry workers first cut the Corniche al-Nahr road, shouting pro-Speaker Nabih Berri slogans, saying he was “defending their cause.”

The protesters, who gathered near service provider Debbas, said their aim was to become full-timers at the state-run company.

They also promised to hold daily sit-ins pending the payment of their salaries, which have been suspended since September.

They said the other two service providing companies, KVA and BUS, have both paid the salaries to all workers.

The workers have been on strike for the past three months to demand their employment. They have erected tents at the company's headquarters in Mar Mikhael, a move which EDL has deemed an “occupation.”

EDL's board of directors has claimed that a law adopted by parliament in April only allows 897 out of the nearly 2,000 workers to become full-timers.

The workers later blocked the Dora-Hazmieh road after reopening the Corniche al-Nahr road.

Hundreds of commuters were stranded on the road. TV footage showed some of them arguing with the protesters to end their sit-in.

“People have jobs and kids to attend to,” said one man. “So please open the road.”

But the workers only ended their protest when Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi visited them and promised to make the necessary contacts to meet their demands.

“We can't block roads and burn tires every time we have a problem,” said Qazzi.

“The demands of the workers are not political. They are based on labor rights,” he stressed.

G.K.

H.K.