On the 4th of June 2010, the administration of the Al-Mustakbal Company for the production of pipes, presented the Ministry of Labor with a letter discussing the possibility of terminating all contracts established between the company and its workers due to the losses which have been inflicted on three-fourths (75%) of the company’s capital investment. The decision was taken in accordance with paragraph (W) of Article 50 of the Lebanese Work Law, with no financial compensation to be paid to workers other than notification of the termination of their services which does not exceed four months of prior notice for those who have been employees of the company for a period extending beyond ten years.

With this in mind, the company has been paying incentives in addition to yearly salary increases for the past four years, in addition to publicly advertising the company’s success at achieving all of its set goals and expected revenue.

In line with the abovementioned the syndicat has taken the following steps:

The union has attended all advisory meetings set by the Ministry of Labor in addition to announcing and explaining its issue to all bodies and organizations of relevant association.

The union met with the company’s administrative council in addition to presenting the Minister of Labor with a written explanation of the issue in addition to meeting with the minister I person and presenting all legal documents in support of the workers’ rights. The union has also met with the president of the The general workers federation and the president of the federation of north Lebanon syndicats a number of times.

An official letter was also sent to his Excellency, President of the Republic of Lebanon who showed genuine concern with the issue in addition to appointing an official from his office responsible for keeping up with the issue as a means of promoting national productivity alongside protecting employees’ rights and the work field dynamics.

With all this occurring, the union was I constant contact with the company’s workers so as to keep them up to date with each and every new step, as well as to provide the support necessary in consolidating their position on the issue. Directly following the legally allowed advisory period of 1 month, the union presented the Ministry of Labor with an official notification on the morning of Monday, 12th of July 2010 concerning a surprise rejection to their entry of the work factory and the company’s property. At current, the workers are on strike at the factory’s gates.

It is important to keep in mind that the company is a fellow to a group of 17 companies located in Arab and international nations, in addition to having sales offices distributed across a number of nations.