A delegation of the Federation of Unions of Banks’ Employees, chaired by Mr. Georges Hajj and Asad Khoury, President of the Union of Employees in Beirut, and consists of 10 other members of the Federation visited the President of the Association of Banks Lebanon, Dr. François Bassil at the headquarters of the Byblos Bank Group, to congratulate him on the occasion of his election as President of the ABL Board of Directors and to express their best wishes of success in his new role and the affairs of the banking family, and in particular, the need to finalize the new version of the Collective Labor Agreement so that it is satisfactory for both management and bank staff. The two parties reviewed the results of recent negotiations for the reviving of the Agreement, especially after the good care of the Minister of Labor, Salim Jreissati and the BDL governance, represented by Dr. Saad Andari.

Dr. Bassil thanked the delegation of their visit and comments related to the topic being discussed, stating that “the policy of the Board and his own give the Collective Labor Agreement priority over other concerns, because of its positive impact regarding the creation of a climate of stability and tranquility among the employees in the sector, and whose leaders are keen to establish the best  relations between production partners for the benefit of all and the service of the Lebanese economy,  especially in difficult circumstances that the Lebanese are living in different security, political and economic fields. We, therefore, recommend to positively deal with social affairs and seek together to find realistic and possible solutions to address the various problems, by a wise and rational dialogue, far from any form of media escalation or political exploiting”. Dr. BASSIL considered that “the joint committee formed by the two parties during the recent days has made intense and tangible efforts to overcome the remaining obstacles, which will allow both parties to sign the new version of the Collective Labor Agreement very soon”.

For his part, Mr. Georges Hajj said that “the Federation came to congratulate Dr. François Bassil who is known for his remarkable humanism and concern for good cooperation and understanding with the Federation of Unions of Banks’ Employees, as well as the atmosphere of stability and security in banking institutions in Lebanon. We explained the mechanism that the Federation will follow in the coming days to prepare the process of signing the Collective Labor Agreement which we hope will take place before the end of this month, and will be a festive gift to all colleagues, members of the Lebanese banking family”.