Ogero employees began their strike on Tuesday. (L'Orient Today/PHB)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Telecommunications Minister Johnny Corm signed four decrees Monday in an effort to improve the working conditions for employees of state-owned telecommunications company Ogero, who have been on open strike since Tuesday. Despite this step, Ogero workers announced will not end their strike before Thursday as they are still awaiting a reply regarding an increase to their salaries, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Ogero workers' syndicate met Monday with the head of Ogero, Imad Kreidieh, and reported a "positive atmosphere" that allowed a partial resolution of their demands. However, the syndicate decided they will not end their strike until the telecommunication minister replies to their demand for a salary increase.
Despite this strike, Ogero employees will provide 21 main telecommunications centers with diesel — up from 13 — to avoid a total outage of telecoms in the country.
Kreidieh confirmed to the syndicate that Corm signed three decrees in response to the employees' demands. The first decree grants a monthly sum for "social assistance," the second grants a raise in employees' transportation allowance and the third grants "attendance" payments for the next two months. The demand for a salary raise to help employees to cope with inflation was not yet met.
A fourth decree signed by Corm requests a treasury advance of approximately LL200 billion from the Ministry of Finance, sourced from the 2022 budget reserves. The advance requires the signature of both the caretaker finance minister and Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the coming hours to become effective.
Before the syndicate meeting, Corm said the money requested from the reserves "covers expenses that are the right of the employees." He confirmed that "these funds are in the ministry, and we need permission to use [them]," adding that he hopes the situation will soon become clearer.
"Three out of the four demands are in the process of being implemented now and, accordingly, I will ask to end the strike and see the extent of the response," Corm said.
He added that the demands of the employees are "fair" and that they include mechanisms granted to all other public servants. "But that doesn't give them the right to prevent the infrastructure to be provided with fuel," Corm insisted, before warning that legal proceedings will be initiated against any employee who interferes with the fuel supply.
According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the north, telecommunications services have been undergoing a series of complications for more than four days, most notably power outages and the unavailability of diesel fuel for backup generators for the transmission stations. This has affected the quality of communications and internet services, which are constantly disrupted. Telephone and internet outages were also reported Monday in Saida and Nabatieh.
