EDL's workers' union calls for warning strike, sit-in on Feb. 3

The workers' union at Electricité du Liban (EDL) called for a “warning strike and sit-in inside all institution centers on Tuesday, with a halt to the completion of administrative work,” during the electricity provider’s meeting on Thursday, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The workers are demanding the payment of end-of-service indemnities and stressing the need for them to be a key partner in any amendment to Law No. 462.

The strike excludes workers "at main substations, investment workers at production plants, and any activities that could affect public safety."

The union said it “continued rejection of any infringement on the entitlements and rights of workers and employees, in line with its previous positions on this matter.”

The union stressed the “necessity of being a key partner in any amendment to Law No. 462 issued in 2002, particularly Article 45 related to the rights of workers and employees.”

This law establishes a legal framework to regulate, restructure, and privatize the electricity sector, specifically by unbundling EDL into independent production, transmission, and distribution entities.

Article 45 of Law No. 462 specifically addresses the status, rights, and compensation of EDL staff and Energy Ministry employees during the transition to a privatized or regulated electricity sector.

The union confirmed that “the continuation of this approach will push it to take escalatory action.”

The statement also addressed the issue of end-of-service indemnities, criticizing what it described as “the administration’s lack of interest in settling social security files for employees who have spent many long years at the institution,” in addition to other demands related to the rehabilitation of the central building, subscriptions, and other living and social issues.

Public infrastructure in Lebanon has deteriorated considerably, with EDL barely managing to provide a few hours of electricity per day in a country that has been in an economic crisis since 2019.

This strike by employees is not the first since the institution was hit hard by the crisis.