The Contractors Committee in Public Administrations announced, in a statement, the extension of the work suspension, starting from tomorrow morning, Monday, until the evening of Friday, February 6th. This measure comes in protest against the House of Representatives’ approval of the general budget without taking into account the living conditions of public sector workers, especially contractors.
The committee confirmed that the Council approved the budget “in a scandalous scene of complete separation from the social and living reality of workers in the public sector,” considering that this was done “with complete coldness, without any consideration for the suffering of thousands of contractors who have been in charge of public facilities since the years of collapse.”
The statement stated that “approving the budget brought down with it the last illusions of fairness,” noting that the numbers were approved while “rights were buried,” and the contractors’ demands became “hostage to a populist financial-political bazaar,” where people’s livelihood is used as a tool for bargaining instead of being an issue for solution.
The committee stressed that the rights of contractors are clear, specific, and indivisible or negotiable, the most important of which are:
Full adoption of the requirement for aggregation of public sector associations
Approval of tenure and/or retirement as a natural right
Returning the three grades lost since the approval of the series of ranks and salaries
Excluding contractors from the age requirement when applying for new jobs
Involving contractors in the Institute of Management’s courses on the same basis as other employees
Restoring all stolen rights that can no longer tolerate postponement or procrastination
The committee also strongly condemned the oppression, beatings and abuse suffered by its colleagues in the Public Administration Employees Association in front of the House of Representatives, considering this attack “further evidence of the mentality of the authorities that confronts rightful demands with violence instead of solutions.”
The committee concluded its statement by affirming its complete and unconditional solidarity with the Public Sector Associations, declaring that the Rights Restoration Workshop has entered a new phase of open confrontation with all forms of legitimate union escalation, and holding the authority fully responsible for any paralysis or future repercussions.
This escalation comes in light of a severe economic and living crisis hitting the public sector, and with the continued heavy reliance on contractors to manage the state’s basic facilities.
With the approval of a budget described as not reflecting the scale of the collapse and not doing justice to workers, union movements are heading towards an open confrontation that may cause further paralysis in public administrations in the coming days.
