A strike by the workers and employees of the Lebanese Telecommunications Authority (Ogero) threatens to isolate Lebanon and lead to an Internet blackout.

In crisis-hit Lebanon, the telecommunications sector suffers from a shortage of diesel fuel and the inability to secure maintenance parts and other services.  Workers in the country are taking action as they demand pay raises that would compensate for the sharp depreciation of the country’s currency.

Minister of Telecommunications in the caretaker government Johnny Corm urged the employees of state operator Ogero to suspend their strike.

He stressed that increasing their salaries required a decision by the Cabinet. He noted that dialogue was the best means to reach a solution.

However, the negotiations between the minister and the employees seemed to have reached an impasse on Thursday, as the minister said in a radio statement: “After discussing the matter with [caretaker] Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the morning, he asked me to task the army with intervening so that we take over Ogero completely.”

His comments sparked a wave of anger among the employees, who accused Corm of renouncing his responsibilities, as reported by the National News Agency (NNA).

The workers stressed that they had full confidence in the wisdom of the Army leadership, which would spare no effort in protecting their rights.

In parallel with the employee strike crisis, the Internet outage is expanding to different regions in Lebanon, due to the depletion of diesel fuel.

Ogero Director General Imad Kreidieh said in an earlier statement that the state has prevented the Ogero authority since 2019 from carrying out the necessary maintenance.

He pointed to the inability to purchase diesel fuel and carry out equipment maintenance.