SCC Challenges Government, Vows to Win Wage Scale Battle

Syndicate Coordination Committee protesters challenged on Thursday the government by going ahead with their open-ended strike for the third day in a row, vowing to remain united and reach all the public institutions across Lebanon as long as the cabinet procrastinates referring the new salary scale to the parliament.

“The protest committees will be formed by the weekend and we will win this battle. We are getting stronger each day,” head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib told protesters rallying near the Education Ministry in the UNESCO area in Beirut.

He revealed that the SCC is holding meetings on daily basis at its headquarters to decide the upcoming steps.

The SCC member urged all teachers in the private and public sector to participate in the strike, saying that official exams will not be held on time as long as the cabinet is stalling.

He accused the Economic Committees, a grouping of the country's businessmen and owners of major firms, of being accomplices in the corruption in the state.

Gharib vowed to confront any threats by ministers to sack public sector employees, pointing out that Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi has warned the members of the committee formed at Value Added Tax section.

“The committee will not back down,” he stressed.

For his part, head of the private school teachers association Nehme Mahfoud reiterated that the strike is “a right stated by the law, calling on Prime Minister Najib Miqati to implement the law.

“We will not end our strike until the new wage scale is referred to the parliament,” Mahfoud stated.

Protesters will hold a sit-in on Friday's near the Agriculture Ministry in Bir Hassan area in Beirut at 9:30 a.m., where a protest committee will be formed.

Mahfoud lashed out at statements by Miqati to local newspaper on Thursday.

The premier urged in comments to As Safir newspaper the SCC to suspend its open-ended strike and act “responsibly” as the new wage scale for the public sector will be referred to the parliament within a short period.

“Staging strikes isn't the best endeavor to achieve the demands, although it is a democratic right,” Miqati said.

The premier pointed out that he didn't back down on his promises to the public sector but he needs time to resolve the matter.

“I can't take hasty decisions under pressure and create a budget deficit. I am concerned as a premier with studying the matter thoroughly,” Miqati stressed.

He called on the SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, to “let him do his job and convince the Economic Committees of the new salary scale.”

“This delicate matter shouldn't be resolved by challenging the economic committees, I should find common ground with them,” Miqati stated.

He noted that “the strikes staged by the SCC could harm some citizens but it is better than hitting the economy, which will harm all the Lebanese.”

For his part, Labor Minister Nicolas Nahhas downplayed in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper the dispute over the new salary scale, considering that the solution is at the final stages but the government is delaying the matter until it finds the adequate funding resources.

Education Minister Hassan Diab told the newspaper that he failed to avert the SCC decision to suspend the strike.

He said that the SCC will go on with its strike until Miqati succeeds in finding consensus between the Economic Committees, a grouping of the country's businessmen and owners of major firms, and the SCC.

The cabinet has been stalling in finding sources to fund the scale that was approved last year, leading to growing differences with the SCC, which has been accusing it of negligence.

However, the government argues that it is delaying the decision on the funding in an attempt 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 over the presence of 180,000 public sector employees including military personnel.