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The power struggle between the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ogero lingers. As a result, the union representing employees of Lebanon’s public telephone and internet provider took a stand on Thursday, denouncing a financial blockade. They announced that they would resort to escalating measures if positive and concrete actions are not implemented on their behalf.
Ogero’s Employees’ Union took a stand on Thursday, denouncing a “financial blockade” and the “continuous depletion” of the budgets needed by the Authority for maintenance, operations and salaries. In a press conference, the employees questioned why the state and its administrations are deliberately depriving Ogero of the essential resources for sustaining its operations and the flexibility it once had to implement and secure public communication services.
They also pointed out that the increase in phone bills has been imposed exclusively on citizens, while private companies continue to increase their profits at the expense of the treasury. They questioned whether the bankruptcy of the sector is a deliberate move to facilitate its transfer to specific investors.
Deteriorating conditions
In an interview with This is Beirut, Emilie Nassar, president of Ogero’s Employees’ Union, argues that the situation is deteriorating with no positive or concrete initiatives taken in favor of Ogero, despite repeated calls for improved working conditions. “How much longer must we wait?” Employees have tried to negotiate, but to no avail. “It’s sheer procrastination. We’re forced to plead when all we want is to secure our rights for the work we do and ensure network maintenance,” she explains.
In fact, many cables needed for maintaining or expanding the network are unavailable due to inadequate funding. The same goes for many machines that are now out of service. Furthermore, all generators powering the Authority’s facilities are defective and cannot be replaced.
In this context, it should be highlighted that any breakdowns or malfunctions in Ogero’s network affect internet services nationwide, as the operator supplies data to all access providers. The union persistently advocates for salaries that better align with the economic situation and expresses deep concern over the dire working conditions of employees. Their main demands focus on salary adjustments and improved benefits.
Caretaker Minister of Telecommunications Johnny Corm told This is Beirut, “The Ministry of Finance has yet to release the required funds for settling employee salary increases or for network maintenance, hence the recurring outages at Ogero.” However, he assured that “the required funds are included in the 2024 budget and have already been approved.”
