Initial approval for hiring EDL's contract workers

Draft law calls for filling vacancies through recruitment tests open only to current workers

A draft law for the “employment of qualified contract workers at Electricité du Liban” was approved by joint parliamentary committees.

The draft law authorizes EDL to offer jobs to nearly 1,200 contract workers to fill the existing gaps through employment exams. It stipulates that the exams shall be open only to contract workers, and thus EDL cannot offer these jobs to new employees.

“The law will not be effective unless it is approved by Parliament’s general assembly,” said MP Mohamad Kabbani, head of Parliament’s Energy Committee.

MPs loyal to the Free Patriotic Movement withdrew from the session. Minister of Energy Gebran Bassil, also an FPM member, did not attend the session.

“I believe the draft law will be approved by the general assembly,” said Kabbani.

The decision came in the wake of a two month-long strike which hindered EDL’s operations, including carrying out vital repairs, and bill collecting.

The crisis emerged in the wake of the EDL’s decision to engage the services of private companies for bill collecting and network maintenance services. This decision infuriated contract workers who have been performing these tasks for over two decades.

Reported by Hanadi Chami