Jumblat Proposes Compulsory Military Service, Solution for Unemployment

Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat on Monday said that compulsory military service must be restored in Lebanon and called for new government measures compelling contractors to employ more Lebanese workers to fight unemployment.

In a tweet Jumblat said: “To face the legitimate public anger as we wait for: serious government measures to control the borders, tax evasion, the adoption of a unified progressive tax, reduction of ruling class privileges, benefit from maritime property, a serious control of corruption and the adoption of transparent tenders to deter dubious capital. I suggest that contractors are pressed to employ %50 Lebanese workers with wages exceeding those for foreign labor in construction and maintenance workshops, to counter unemployment and create regional professional workshops in all fields."

Jumblat added: “I have a modest experience on a personal level, whereas I have for months absorbed almost eighty workers.”

He said it is "a personal experience that can be generalized," adding that major contractors in all sectors must give priority to the Lebanese worker and “relinquish some of their huge profits while waiting for CEDRE decisions which I consider illusory and far from flimsy growth theories.”

Jumblat concluded saying: “We must return to compulsory military service.”