Employees of mobile phone operators in Lebanon demonstrated on Tuesday in front of the Touch company building in downtown Beirut. (Credit: DR)
BEIRUT — The strike by mobile operators' employees in Lebanon continued Wednesday for the third consecutive day, stopping customer service, closing stores throughout the country and suspending maintenance work on the networks.
Employees of the two companies Afla and Touch demanded "equality between employees" for their promotions or salary increases. The union of mobile workers reiterated Wednesday in statements to local news outlets that the strike will continue "until their demands are met," stressing that they are "open to dialogue."
On Monday and Tuesday, the president of the union, Marc Aoun, and the caretaker Minister of Telecommunications Johnny Corm — the two main interlocutors in this case — both told our L'Orient-Le Jour that they will not give in.
"I fear that this strike will be politicized," the minister said, adding that he could not go any further in terms of wages and benefits because of the crisis in Lebanon. "On average, employees receive $2,500 per month."
According to Marc Aoun, this average would actually be "$2,000 per month."
After meeting with the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Johnny Corm on Wednesday called for reinforcement from the caretaker Minister of Labor, Mustapha Bayram, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Media and Telecommunications, Ibrahim Moussaoui.
Both are expected to hold "an emergency meeting" with the union, according a statement from the Ministry of Labor, without specifying a date.