Demanding salary increase | Al-Bab city Local Council dismisses bakeries workers
Aleppo province: SOHR activists have reported that Al-Bab city Local Council in the eastern Aleppo countryside has dismissed dozens of workers in automated bread bakeries of the “Council” in the city, after they protested, demanding improvement of financial and service conditions and an increase in their salaries. The workers also protested corrupted figures in local councils.
The workers demanded an increase in their salaries to be suitable with the high costs in areas held by Turkish factions and their proxies, including electricity and food (nutrients) after the value of Turkish Lira had dropped to critical values negatively affecting the living conditions of residents in these regions.
However, members of the Local Council dismissed the workers and threatened to hire other workers with fewer wage, at approximately less than 200 Turkish Liras.
Following these events, dozens of civilians and oven workers went out on protests near Al-Sintar square against the Local Council, and condemned the Council’s decision to dismiss the workers. The protesters called the Council members as “Thieves, Thieves.”
On January 14, Headquarters of the civil police in the city experienced high alert, along with deploying checkpoints in the city’s streets in light of the renewed popular protests in front of the energy company in Azaz city.
On the other hand, tens of people demonstrated in Al-Ziyadiyah village against the local council of Ikhtarin and the “corruption in the energy company”, as they described.
Also, residents staged a demonstration in Mare’ city, calling for decreasing prices of electricity in the region.
On January 13, SOHR sources reported that the local council in Mare’ city issued a statement announcing the resignation of all members over “false accusations” by the residents, as the statement described. The statement clarified that the local council would continue its work until a new council was formed.
Here are highlights of the most important parts of the statement:
“Our people in Mare’ city, we swear we have done our best to provide all possible service to our people, despite the scarcity of resources. However, we faced a plenty of false accusations.
Today, and after reaching a deadlock regarding the price of electricity, we, the members of the local council in Mare’, announce our resignation.”
It is worth noting that several areas in Aleppo countryside had experienced protests by hundreds of civilians calling for reducing price of electricity, where hundreds of people protested in Mare’ city in early January when they stormed the headquarters of the local council and the energy company, sabotaged their contents and expelled employees.
While yesterday, hundreds of Afrin city’s residents had protested in front of the local council and energy company in Afrin, calling for reducing price of electricity, after the increase in prices by the Turkish private company “AK Energy” which imports electricity to this area. A similar protest was staged in front of the energy company in Raju district in Afrin countryside.
The protestors called for improvement of living and service conditions in light of the Turkish currency plunge which have affected the residents in Afrin city which is under the control of Turkish forces and their proxy factions.
It is worth noting that the Turkish energy company had raised the price of electricity to 1.47 TL per kilowatt, while a kilowatt costs 2.50 in the case that consumption exceeded 150 TL. While business electricity rate increased to 2.48 TL per kilowatt and industrial to 2.3 TL per kilowatt.
In Azaz city, the deputy of the head of Azaz Local Council ordered military police and Liwaa Asefat Al-Shamal faction to repress and arrest the protestors. In addition, he asked the attorney general in Azaz city to order the arrest of police officers tasked to protect the headquarters of the energy company under the pretext that “they could not contain the protests or keep protestors away.”