Collective Action

Beirut residents crippled one of the city’s busiest roads at rush hour on evening, burning tires and bring traffic to complete halt at recent electricity cuts following strikes by power company employees.

“What did we do them?” one resident screamed, in a jab at politicians.

“Why are you doing this to us? We want to eat ... we have gone four days with no electricity,” she added.

The road near the Bechara Khoury highway was brought to a standstill at around 6 p.m. after residents became fed up with the recent electricity crisis caused by a nationwide strike by the state-run electricity company’s employees.

During the protests, a meeting was being held at the Finance Ministry to discuss new salaries for Electricite du Liban employees. In a joint news conference between the two after the meeting, Khalil announced that an agreement had been reached. For his part, President of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers Bechara Asmar confirmed that an agreement had been reached. "I thank the Finance Minister, Energy Minister, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri for their efforts, and I can say that a respectful agreement has been reached to end the strikes," Asmar said.