Employees of mechanic centers hold a sit-in in Hadath on July 6, 2022. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Employees of car inspection centers held a sit-in Wednesday to protest against the suspension of 450 employees, without warning or financial compensation, in late May, when the Interior Minister, Bassam Mawlawi, had announced the suspension of the annual mechanical examination of cars, a requirement by the government, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Here’s what we know:
• According to the NNA, the inspection center’s employees demonstrated in front of the center in Hadath, southeast Beirut, where they denounced their work suspension.
• After the suspension of the mechanical examination, the company Val, which is operating the inspection centers, had shut down the centers "without taking its responsibilities towards the employees," the protestors decried. They also criticized the "promises" that have not been kept by the company regarding compensation payments.
• The employees' union, which organized this sit-in, has also announced that other mobilizations will take place on dates that have not yet been determined, and that it may resort to escalation.
• The closure of the inspection centers comes at a time when their employees have regularly demanded better working conditions, against the backdrop of a multi-faceted financial collapse in the country, and when unions have criticized the management of the company Val, which has been receiving remuneration without having officially renewed its contract with the state.