BEIRUT:
Contract workers at Electricite Du Liban closed Saturday the gates of the main
headquarters of the state-run company in Beirut and prevented contractual bill
collectors from carrying out their duties.
The
contract workers closed the gates at around 9 a.m.
EDL
has not been able collect payment for electricity bills since protests by contract
workers started over two months ago.
The
contract workers said they would carry on with their protest until Sunday and
threatened to further escalate their action Monday.
On
Friday, the contract workers blocked roads leading to the EDL headquarters in
Mar Mikhael, warning that if they do not receive the back pay they are entitled
to, they will block the entrances with burning tires.
After
striking for over two months and demanding full-time employment at EDL,
contract workers resumed in July their protests over unpaid wages.
Parliament
endorsed a bill to employ the contract workers full-time at EDL, but the draft
legislation is waiting for the approval of Parliament’s Secretariat, whose
meeting was postponed Thursday.
Christian
parties argue that employing contract workers with the state-run company
without a proper mechanism would cause a sectarian imbalance in the public
sector.
EDL
said earlier this week that legal issues were behind its refusal to pay
contract workers their June salaries.
In
a statement, EDL said it had made the required legal arrangements to pay May
salaries but not those of June, arguing that the workers should have joined
private service providers no later than June 2.
“[Paying
June salaries] would violate the contracts signed with service providers and
could prompt monitoring bodies to subject EDL to questioning,” the statement
read.
Payments to bill
collectors, the statement added, are awaiting verification by the Energy and
Finance ministries.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jul-07/179713-contract-workers-close-edl-gates-threaten-to-escalate-action.ashx#axzz1zvEUG3qp
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