The EDL headquarters in Beirut was badly damaged in the 2020 port explosion. (Credit: P.H.B.)
BEIRUT — The syndicate for workers and employees of the state power provider Electricité du Liban announced in a statement Tuesday a “warning strike” in reaction to the 2022 budget draft. The strike will begin on Feb. 2 and continue until Feb. 4.
Here’s what we know:
• Cabinet’s study of the 2022 draft budget started Tuesday and discussions on its content are expected to continue for the rest of the week.
• In its statement, the EDL workers’ syndicate said that it “completely rejects the budget and its inclusion of taxes and expenses that would affect the poor class and the employees and workers [of EDL].”
• The syndicate also pointed out the lack of any terms regarding “the repair of EDL’s main branch,” which was badly damaged in the 2020 Beirut port blast, and the lack of any terms regarding compensation for workers’ salaries that“evaporated in banks,” a reference to the de facto capital controls that banks have placed on depositors’ savings since October 2019.
• EDL workers, like all public sector employees, are suffering from the unprecedented economic crisis in which the country is mired. The collapse of the country’s economy has caused massive inflation alongside the devaluation of the Lebanese lira.