Fenasol موقع تابع للاتحاد الوطني لنقابات العمال والمستخدمين في لبنان يعنى بمشاكل العمال اللبنانين والاجانب
مقالات مشابهة
“That they may have
life and have it more
abundantly”
The National Conference to address the decision to arbitrary
terminate staff from the American University of Beirut (AUB)
and its Medical Center (AUBMC)
Together to retrieve the mass displacement decision
“In light of a deadly economic crisis”
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
I. The termination methodology used
Exerting a psychological pressure on all employees of the university and its
medical center (who were terminated and who are remaining in their current
jobs) extending for a period of more than two months before the
implementation of the arbitrary decision.
Creating an atmosphere of anxiety and distrust between employees and their
managers in all departments and units in relation to the list of nominees to be
terminated.
Humiliating method that was adopted to inform the arbitrarily terminated
employees, whether by distributing the letters in the departments and units of
the employees or by contacting them by phone and inviting them to come to
the HR Department on the same day, to hand them the letters within a period
not exceeding two hours max.
Delivering letters to the terminated employees without providing any
justification to them. These terminated employees have served the university
and its medical center with absolute dedication for decades, including harsh
times and conditions
Distributing to each terminated employee an envelope that contains a partial
arbitration decision, limited only to the details of the financial compensation
that will be distributed, while intentionally hiding the rest of the information
that condemns the arbitration decision.
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
Adopting a police like method by requesting the presence of large numbers of
the Lebanese army soldiers and internal security forces to be stationed in the
vicinity of the university and its medical center in parallel with the
implementation of the process of informing employees of their arbitrary
termination.
Violating the dignity of the terminated by preventing them from accessing
their e-mail, their computers and their self-service, contrary to the university’s
internal system. This was done on the same day, knowing that those who were
notified of this arbitrary decision are still employees to date.
II. The termination method in terms of content
1. The criteria adopted to select the terminated employees, and which will also be
adopted in terminating the second wave of current employees:
Failure to adopt scientific and professional standards that enable the
terminated employees to be notified of the reasons for their arbitrary
dismissal.
The role of the Human Resources Department was reduced to handing out
letters to the terminated.
Failure to adopt the results of the annual performance appraisal of employees
as a basic criterion for evaluation.
Absence of the role of the Compliance Department at all administrative and
financial levels, especially in the process of selecting the terminated.
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
Failure to secure continuity of basic and alternative health coverage and
educational grants in schools and universities for the children of terminated
employees, which the President had promised, in earlier communications, to
continue for terminated employees and their families. That safety net has
stopped in the most difficult circumstances our country is going through.
Changing many of the names of the terminated overnight in several
departments. We mention these Units for example, but not limited to: (ER and
Supply Chain).
After one of the employees received a written termination letter on Friday, the
employee secured mediation (Wasta) which led to reinstating her in her
position in the Plant Engineering Department
The announcement on the website of the Medical Center of three jobs for
male and female nurses, knowing that many of them were terminated. Does
the financial deficit allow for the recruitment of male and female nurses after
the termination of male and female nurses?
2. Reasons behind the arbitrary dismissal of employees:
– Poor Financial Management
Random employment starting from September 2015, which led to an inflation
in the number of employees.
Recruitment of many Lebanese employees with extremely high salaries of up
to ten times the salaries of the majority of the other employees at the
university and its medical center, whether they were amongst the terminated
or not.
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
Appointing a foreign employee in one of the departments with an annual
salary exceeding$ 300,000 to be paid in US dollars (Fresh Money) in the midst
of the financial crisis that the university claims to be suffering from. Note that
the administration must legally give priority to the Lebanese people in this
regard, especially as the university president claims that the university is
suffering from a financial deficit.
– Bad Administrative Leadership
Establishing new and advanced administrative departments in the university’s
administrative structure, and forcing many employees to report directly to the
head of these departments, under the threat of arbitrary termination.
Absenting the role of the Compliance Department at all administrative and
financial levels, especially in the termination selection process.
Financial facts as reported
The President of the university announced the reduction of the budget from
around $ 600,000,000 in FY19/20 to around $ 247,000,000 for FY20/21, which
means that the total budget cut would be is more than $ 350,000,000 for
FY20/21.
How can this financial madness be implemented?
Was the amount saved after expelling the lowest-paying employees?
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
What about the salaries of the people who were appointed in light of the
financial crisis claimed by the university president? Did they help or were they
an overburden?
The financial position of the university is very sound.
The university’s budget for previous years proves that there is a great saving.
Here is an example for the year 2018:
Total Fund Assets Less Liabilities is
$ 1,178,039,915.00 representing “Cash – Investments, etc.”
Detailed information about the financial position of the university can be found at
the following website: www.Propublica.org, which is accessible to the public and is
not a secret at all.
The total salaries of terminated employees do not constitute any burden on
the university’s finances, but they paid the price for errors in monitoring and
distributing the budget.
What about the funds of the Foundation’s supporters, including graduates and
donors?
What about the “AUB Boldly Campaign” funds which was able to raise funds up
to $ 650,000,000 after confirming the receipt of large sums from donors?
“The Campaign to Lead, Innovate, and Serve”
What about the Solidarity Fund that was created by the university to support
the neediest employees?
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
III. The arbitrary agreement which represents a crime against the
terminated employees
The Syndicate has NO right to negotiate, make decisions, or sign on behalf of
terminated employees who are not affiliated with the Syndicate.
The Syndicate who is authorized to negotiate for the rights of the employees is
not entitled to make decisions and sign without consulting them, especially
since the severance package that was negotiated with the university president
sets a precedent in the history of the arbitrary termination of a large number
of employees and, thus, the displacement of their families.
The Syndicate’s representatives should have informed the employees of the
results of the discussions instead of touring the political parties, as they
recently stated. The Syndicate’s affiliates did not sign on a full un-reversible
authorization to the Syndicate to make decision on their behalf.
The Syndicate and the president of the university agreed and signed together a
humiliating and void arbitration agreement that did not take legal principles
into consideration, and the university deliberately handed it out to the
terminated employees leaving out a big section of the agreement
The Syndicate overstated the rights of employees with a record time of one
week, which included the hilarious trilogy: “Request for mediation, failure of
mediation, and absolute arbitration.” Failure to respect the deadlines here
confirms the existence of a suspicious agreement between the two parties that
gave the Syndicate the power to interfere in the selection of names, or its
members, who are also employees, were pressured by the university president
and his representative to bid their doing. We are open to a dialogue with our
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
Syndicate colleagues to explain the details of this crime that has displaced our
families.
The Ministry of Labor overstated the rights of employees and was the main
reason for their displacement. The ministry did not fulfill its national role
protecting employees’ rights, especially in light of the severe economic and
financial circumstances the country is going through. The Ministry of Labor and
its successor, the bad government, contributed in the passing of the largest
crime of arbitrary termination in the history of Lebanon.
The arbitration decision allows the university to terminate a second wave of
employees as recorded in Clause III – designating the payment mechanism.
Names were chosen on the basis of political affiliations and directors’ personal
criteria and were not based on professional and objective criteria. As for the
compliance standard, it was not implemented as mentioned before.
IV. The executive measures that will be taken to defend the rights and
dignity of the employees who were violated in a humiliating manner that
totally contradicts the lofty message that the American University of
Beirut had established 155 years ago to lay down and also to confront
the plan that aims to expel the second wave of existing employees in the
near future
Submitting an appeal to counter effect the agreement, since it is “null and
void”. This will be done through the use of legal advisors who decided to
represent the terminated employees in order to revert the injustice done to
them and also prevent any future plan aimed at displacing a second wave of
current employees.
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
Working with jurists, civil society activists, Syndicates, and others in order to
nullify the reckless mistake that led to the displacement of more than 850
employees who will directly or indirectly affect thousands of other people from
their small and large families.
Work with the Syndicate members who are trusted and keen on obtaining
rights of the employees and workers to urge the university president to
reverse this arbitrary decision.
Requesting support from the institution’s current workforce, including doctors,
nurses, professors, employees, and workers, to urge the university president to
reverse this arbitrary decision.
Requesting support from the university students who make up its nerve.
Requesting support from university graduates and supporters to urge the
university president to reverse this arbitrary decision.
Requesting support from the members of the Board of Trustees to save the
university from the people who offended its lofty message and rededicate it as
a beacon to the east. In this context, we launched a petition addressed to the
members of the Board of Trustees to urge them to retrieve the arbitrary
decision and thus remove the injustice done towards these terminated
employees.
Raise the voice loudly in the international community, especially in the United
States of America, to highlight the factional discrimination that occurred in the
process of selecting names and which led to the dismissal of employees who
do not enjoy any political of factional support.
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
“That they may have life and have it more abundantly”
May the American University of Beirut Remain
“A Beacon of the East”
Thank you
The Coalition of AUB & AUBMC Laid Off Employees
Beirut Lebanon 24/7/2020
