EDL to pay contract workers salaries

Electricite du Liban's administration announced on Saturday that it will pay the contract workers' their salaries after obtaining the approval from the Energy Ministry and the Finance Ministry. "The Energy Ministry and the Finance Ministry approved on Friday a decision to open the necessary accounts to pay the contract workers their salaries," EDL said in a statement. It noted that the company signed the documents and will pay the employees their salaries. EDL urged all the contract workers to hand over the bills and funds they refrained to give to the company since they staged their protests three months ago. "The funds are worth some LL1.5 billion," the statement pointed out. The administration warned the contract workers that they would not receive their salaries if they do not hand over the money, stressing that it will take all the necessary legal measures against violators. The contract workers warned on Friday that they would take “unprecedented” escalatory measures if their salaries were not paid before Monday. The parliament’s approval earlier this month of a decision taken by the joint parliamentary committees to permanently employee EDL contract workers created a rift between the March 8 allies, as the Free Patriotic Movement accused Hizbullah of being a “spectator” while Speaker Nabih Berri of violating the protocol. The Christian lawmakers boycotted the parliament to protest the approval of the joint parliamentary committee’s arguing that the permanent employment of those workers would destabilize the sectarian balance at EDL as around 80 percent of them belong to non-Christian sects and most of them support Berri, who is a Shiite. EDL contract workers, who will have to sit for a closed exam, which will be held by the Civil Service Board.