Head of the Union of Metal and Electrical Industries in Damascus, Mazen Dakkak, revealed that all public sector companies related to the production of electrical and metal industries have returned to production, stating the Barada company has begun the manufacturing of 500 refrigerators and ovens with the first batch available soon.
Dakkak explained in a statement to al-Watan that the Syronics TV manufacturer has also begun the production of a large number of products with a variety of sizes. This will help to reduce the prices of electrical materials, which increased dramatically during the last period as major companies halted manufacturing as a result of the armed conflict.
Dakkak pointed out that the Barada construction company, which was affected by the sabotage, returned to production after signing a contract with the Ministry of Electricity to install 3,000 tons of cables in the streets.
He added that the production of electrical and metal companies dropped dramatically to 40 percent in 2014, with production of the cable company last year amounting to almost 5,000 tons of cables, while the production rate at the beginning of this year rose to 70 percent – a significant indicator that the company’s production is back to full capacity.
Dakkak explained that public sector companies are suffering from labor shortages, as the number of workers registered in the Union reached 4,000 workers in the public and private sectors, while the number exceeded 10,000 workers in 2013.
"Some owners of private companies took advantage of the opportunity and dismissed a large number of workers", Dakkak said.
The union head confirmed that it is currently working to return all the workers who were dismissed from service in the private sector, as many of them were subjected to harsh conditions resulting from the lack of access to work, especially those in the private sector.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
