Government Employees in Protest, Vow General Strike Next Week over Wage Scale
The public sector employees in Lebanon held a sit-in on Thursday near the Finance Ministry demanding the government approves a list of demands mainly the long-stalled wage scale file.
The Public Administration Employees Association expressed resentment in a statement against what it described as a policy of “procrastination” in relation to the pay scale, and demanded its approval as listed in the tables approved by the parliamentary committees.
The campaigners rejected a decision to extend working hours until 5:00 p.m. They said “the government is already giving the employees a delayed right.”
Standard working hours in the public sector are from 8:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m.
Furthermore, the Association demanded that pension salaries be calculated at 100 per cent, instead of 85 per cent, and requested recalculation of family and daily transport allowances.
In their statement, the employees rejected the principle of halting public sector employment for a specific period of time because “it deprives public administrations of young potentials.”
The campaigners said they will escalate measures until their demands are met. They declared a general strike next Thursday in all public departments.
The Joint Parliamentary Committees held lengthy discussions on the wage scale, but the parliament failed to complete discussions on the sources of funding.
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