SCC to Hold Rally in Front of Presidential Palace on Monday at Same Time as Cabinet Session
The Syndicate Coordination Committee announced on Friday that it will be holding a rally on Monday in front of the presidential palace in Baabda, reported the National News Agency.
The demonstration will held at the same time as a cabinet session, which is set to tackle the new wages scale and the sources of its funding.
The SCC is hoping to pressure the cabinet to approve the new scale and refer it to parliament.
No strike will be held on Monday, it added in a statement.
“Should the government fail to refer the new wages scale to parliament, then private and public school teachers and workers in the public sector would be called to stage a general strike on Wednesday,” it said.
The possible strike would be held at all public administrations, ministries, the Grand Serail, and various schools and academic institutions, stated the SCC, which is a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees.
The main demonstration during Wednesday's rally would kick off from the Barbir square in Beirut and head towards the Grand Serail.
The SCC last held a strike on November 29, during which it accused the government of stalling in referring the new wages scale to parliament.
The stalling of the government in finding sources to fund the new scale has deepened the gap with the SCC, which is accusing the government of negligence over its failure to meet its demands.
However, the cabinet argues that it is delaying the issue to thoroughly discuss plans to boost the treasury's revenue to cover the expenses of the salaries boost.
The state treasury will have more than $1.2 billion to cover as there are over 180,000 public sector employees including military personnel.
Earlier this year, the cabinet approved the new salaries scale for public employees.
The wages increase will be retroactive from July 1, 2012.
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