PSI Lebanese electricity union on strike

Statement - 8 December

In this statement issued on 8 December 2021, PSI's Lebanese affiliate, the Union of Workers and Employees of Electricity of Lebanon (EDL), reiterates that it will not tolerate or allow the expansion of the powers of service provider companies that have proven their failure.

The Union of Workers and Employees of EDL held its meeting today, Wednesday, 08/12/2021, and issued the following statement:

EDL reiterated that it will not tolerate and will not allow the expansion of the powers of service providers companies after what they suffered over the past years from these companies at the expenses of workers, employees, the Institution and the citizens, both through contracts concluded with erratic standards and incentives between one company and another that were not previously granted to the Institution and its workers. These companies have proven their failure and we are not here today to name them or put the spotlight on them. As a proof of the latter, we only mention the letter of the consultant company NEEDS No. 14/0502 NEEDS-NEW- LET dated 26/5/2014 and addressed to His Excellency the Director General of Investment, Mr. Ghassan Baydoun. The letter included the following request: “in light of the continued delay in addressing the plan for the service providers project, and the size of the financial burdens resulting from the fact that EDL is compelled to provide financial advances to the service providers companies outside the contractual framework, we urge you to take the necessary measures to stop the hazardous financial and contractual consequences, to avoid repercussions on public funds, and to preserve the rights of EDL. The Union considers this letter as a notice to the Financial Prosecutor.

• Again, the Union reminds the Prime Minister of the need to form a specialized ministerial committee to review and verify the failures made by the service provider companies in EDL to date and the usefulness of the funds allocated to these companies, with our affirmation that this project did not achieve the goals hoped for by the Council of Ministers and failed miserably at all levels. Instead of seeking to expand the powers of these companies, the Union re-emphasizes and warns that it has not and will not allow the expansion of the powers of service providers. It calls upon the workers, employees, and heads of services, departments and sections in all directorates not to comply with such an order.

 Union of Workers and Employees of EDL 

• The Union is stunned by what His Excellency the Minister of Energy and Water put forward during his unexpected visit in the afternoon to the EDL, on 06/12/2021, requesting from His Excellency the General Director an extraordinary meeting with managers and heads of services in order to expand the powers of service providers companies and his insistence on the distribution managers in Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the regions, Engineer Saadeh El-Haddad and Eng. Ghassan Darwish to sign a memorandum allowing the testing of meters in the Selaata laboratory owned by one of the service providers, knowing that he is an acting minister. Therefore, the Union firmly rejects this argument due to the risks it entails, threatening the future of the Institution, its employees and the citizens alike, and considers it a violation of the powers and tasks of the Technical Service, its president, engineers and technicians. This also applies to the issue of printing invoices outside the Institution.  

• The union reminds all the officials in the Institution (administrators - engineers - technicians) who are subject to negotiations and pressure regarding the expansion of the powers of the service providers companies, that they are affiliated with the union and are subject to its decisions that preserve their rights, earnings and the permanence of work, not to be subject to any pressure from any party and, when necessary, submit their resignation from the tasks assigned to them.

• What is surprising is what His Excellency the Minister of Energy and Water seeks to achieve by expanding the powers of service providers and extending them for a period of two years, as they desire, pressuring the management of the Institution to formulate their new project, bearing all the repercussions in the future.  He is also trying to convince the competent authorities to amend the Institution’s financial and administrative rules and regulations, not with the aim of developing the sector, but laying hands on the public utility. We then ask His Excellency, what about the restoration of the Central Building, especially that we are in the winter season?  

Putting all this together, and due to the lack of concern that the Prime Minister and His Excellency the Acting Minister the Minister of Energy and Water has shown to all the previous statements and sit-ins carried out by the Union,  we are  compelled to declare the strike, not attending all work stations of the Institution, not conducting works on the public network, not receiving and delivering fuel, including unloading ships, in compliance with its decisions, for three days, starting from Thursday 09/12/2021 until 11/12/2021, keeping its meetings open to follow up on developments and take an appropriate position.  

Union Council
Beirut on 8-12-2021
Union of Workers and Employees of EDL 

Statement - 30 November

In this statement issued on 30 November, PSI's Lebanese affiliate, the Union of Workers and Employees of Electricity of Lebanon (EDL), calls for a strike, attendance at all EDL centres and a halt to all work on 2 and 3 December. The union is keeping its meetings open to monitor the situation.

Union of Workers and employees of Electricity of Lebanon

PSI affiliate Workers and Employees of Electricité du Liban union held a meeting on Tuesday, 30/11/2021, where they discussed all the topics previously discussed with His Excellency the Minister of Energy and Water, Dr. Walid FAYAD along with number of issues, the most important of which are:

1.  His Excellency the Minister of Energy and Water’s indifference to everything that the union presented with his Excellency in the meeting held at the Ministry of Energy on 15/11/2021 regarding the restoration of the central building and the promise he made to the union to start the restoration within days and not within weeks to secure a suitable place for workers and employees before winter, which is appropriate for them and commensurate with providing services to citizens, and to date, we have not seen anything in this regard.

2. Expanding the powers of service provider companies, the Union pursuant to the letter addressed to His Excellency the Minister of Energy and Water under No. 596/O dated 10/11/2021, a draft of the memorandum of understanding regarding the contracts of distribution service providers, which includes expanding their powers at the expense of the workers and users of EDL.

   The Union wishes to affirm to His Excellency its firm position by categorically refusing to expand the powers of service provider companies and asking the DSP Committee not to yield to any pressure that comes from any side, near or far, reminding the members of the Committee that they are employees of the Electricité du Liban and are affiliated with the Union and are subject to all its decisions related to labor affairs, demands and permanence. The work of the workers is assured that if the pressure continues, they will return to their union, which is asking them to submit their resignation from the agreement, and not to bear the burden of what the ministry, administration and companies require.

3. We demand our board of directors, which has repeatedly emphasized the futility of service provider companies, not to have changed its opinion in favor of the companies by expanding their powers at the expense of workers and employees, which calls for suspicion because if this happens and your council approves it, it will have negative repercussions at the level of citizens, the institution and workers Both, for example, the generators have replaced the establishment, which negatively affects the fate and permanence of the work of workers and employees and their compensation, and prompts the union to take escalatory positions no less important than the positions of the daily-workers, and those who warned were excused.

4. The Union reminds that it requested in its previous statement, the Prime Minister, the formation of a specialized ministerial committee to review and verify the failures and achievements made by the service provider companies in the Electricité du Liban to date, with our affirmation that this project did not achieve the desired goals set by the Council of Ministers and failed miserably on all levels, for instead of expanding the powers of these companies, the Union reiterates and warns that it has not and will not allow the expansion of the powers of service providers and calls upon workers, employees, heads of departments and sections in all distribution centers and the Department of Statistics and Informatics not to comply with this order.

5. The living situation: In the face of the collapse of the Lebanese lira, the rise of the dollar rate, and the poor financial, economic and living situation that everyone suffers from, we see our ministry and board of directors aiming to expand the powers of service provider companies!!! Instead of looking at the suffering of workers and employees of their social situation, and instead of restoring the central building to secure a suitable place for them under the conditions of Corona, and restoring the sector to the state.

   In conclusion, the Union calls for a strike and to attend to all the establishment’s centers and stop any type of work on Thursday and Friday December 2nd and December 3rd, 2021, and the Union shall keep its meetings open to follow up on developments.

Beirut, 30 November 2021.

EDL Union Council