BEIRUT: Electricite du Liban contract workers must lift their weekslong siege of the state-run power company before any attempts toward dialogue can be made, Energy Minister Arthur Nazarian said Monday.
“We adhere to the rule of law,” the minister said. “The EDL chairman has said he is ready for dialogue. But contract workers must end their siege first.”
Last week, contract workers called for dialogue to resolve the standoff, after EDL Chairman Kamal Hayek warned of a nationwide electricity crisis due to the ongoing protests.
Nazarian pressed the government to tackle the strike more forcefully.
“The Justice and Interior ministries have failed to do the minimum requirements of their duties," he said.
“EDL is a state-owned company and authorities cannot open the doors of an institution that belongs to the government!” Nazarian told a packed news conference at the Zouk Mikael power plant, north of Beirut.
“Siege of a government institution is forbidden."
EDL contract workers have sealed off all the entrances to EDL headquarters in Beirut since late July, demanding full-time status at the electricity company for all of the close to 2,000 contract workers.
A security source told The Daily Star last week that police had orders to refrain from using force to open EDL’s doors, sealed by protesters for several weeks.
Policemen have since stood guard, with orders to act as a disengagement force between the striking contract workers and full-time employees trying to resume work at the beleaguered electricity company.
Nazarian warned after a meeting of the EDL board that the continued “occupation” of EDL headquarters could lead to further problems that would eventually include a total blackout.
“The ongoing abnormal situation will have ominous repercussions, and the ongoing action by contract workers could plunge the entire country into total darkness,” he said.
Nazarian said the ongoing strike would also affect the employees' pay.
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