SIDON, Lebanon: Security forces deployed heavily around the Electricite du Liban branches in Tyre and Sidon Monday, preventing contract workers from protesting and detaining two of them in a standoff.
In the southern town of Tyre, members of the Internal Security Forces entered the courtyard of the EDL complex, forced protesters out of the building and prevented them from erecting tents.
The ISF allowed EDL employees to enter the building but stopped contract workers from burning tires to block the road outside the facility.
During a minor scuffle with the protesters, police detained two people, one who attempted to self-mutilate in protest and another who tried to set tires on fire. The former was identified as Amer Youssef while the latter was Malek Jaber, both EDL contract workers, a security source told The Daily Star.
In the coastal city of Sidon, police also deployed inside the EDL building and would not allow protesters to hold a sit-in, while the committee of contract workers vowed to block a vital Beirut highway in protest.
Last week, EDL workers blocked Charles Helou Highway in Beirut, causing hourslong traffic jams over what they claim was a breach in the agreement they had reached with officials to settle their working status.
The contract workers have been employed by private service providers since 2012, when the firms were subcontracted to perform EDL’s technical services for four years.
The workers have been carrying out protests at all EDL offices, preventing employees from entering the buildings. The contract workers are demanding full-time employment at EDL for each of the close to 2,000 workers, while EDL has only agreed to hire 897.
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