The President received a delegation of the Syndicate of Cell phone Sector Employees: Expedite the resolution of the problem of delegation of boards of directors, and releasing employees benefits.

The President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met a delegation of the Syndicate of Employees of Companies operating in the cellular sector (Alfa and Touch), headed by Captain, Charbel Nawar, today at the Presidential Palace.

Nawar delivered a speech presenting the current cellular sector situation, pointing out that “Continuation in this way of managing this sector is no longer possible, and therefore must accelerate, resolve problems and seek solutions to all outstanding issues, as OTL and MTC take advantage of this reluctance to evade their obligations towards us, in light of the absence of a clear plan by the Ministry of Communications, despite the passage of two months out of the three-month deadline specified in the sector recovery decree. The decree obliges the Minister to submit a new book of conditions to the Cabinet in preparation for the new tender”.

Captain Nawar also considered that “Delay in recovering the sector by the Communications Ministry, and the disbursement of credits to suppliers, has led to dispatch stations stopping work due to the lack of diesel required for operation on equipment. Some companies will stop dealing with us starting from the beginning of next month. This sector is no longer tolerable Mr. President”.  

The delegation demanded the following:

First: “Expediting the solution of the problem of delegation to the boards of directors because of its impact on the work of companies and employees, and the recovery from paralysis that companies suffer from at various levels, which leads to massive losses and waste of public funds worth millions of Dollars monthly. This is what we mostly need in these difficult circumstances”.

Second: “Releasing employee benefits accrued since 2019, as it constitutes about 30% of their annual income, which negatively reflects on service benefits. Here, we indicate that we have filed complaints with the Labor Ministry and until this moment nothing has been decided, due to the lack of cohesion of arbitration committee sessions in the Labor Ministry, which are involved in collective disputes against OTL and MTC companies”.

Third: “Not allowing operating companies to be discharged before fulfilling all their obligations and duties towards employees in particular and the state in general, and the interests of the Lebanese state and citizens be above all considerations”.

Fourth: “Ensuring the continuity and permanence of employees’ work, their rights and their gains, by entering the collective work contract and its annexes into the book of conditions of any new tender”.

President’s Reply:

For his side, the President asserted the need to address the cellular sector situation, as soon as possible, pointing out that this issue will be raised in tomorrow’s Cabinet session.

The President of the Republic gave directions to concerned authorities, to follow-up the delegation’s demands.​