Unrelenting Wage Raise Demands Increase Pressure on Government

Protesters demanding the government to refer the wage scale for the public sector to the parliament held another sit-in near a state institution in Beirut on Thursday.

The demonstrators, who gathered near the directorate of revenues of the finance ministry in the area of Beshara al-Khoury, reiterated their demands for a swift decision by the cabinet to refer the draft to the parliament.

The protest was organized by the Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, that kicked off last week an open-ended strike to protest the government’s procrastination.

The SCC is holding daily demonstrations, the biggest of which was a march from Barbir Square to the Grand Serail on Wednesday.

It will hold another sit-in near the labor ministry building in Shiyyah at 9:30 am Friday, the SCC annouced.

The cabinet approved the wage scale last year, but it has so far failed to refer the draft to the legislature over what it says is lack of funds.

Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi proposed what he said is "a comprehensive solution" to the salary scale dispute.

He informed a ministerial committee about his latest study which drew the criticism of Ministers Mohammed Fneish and Salim Jreissati.

Fneish was quoted as saying that Safadi's report did not bring anything new while Jreissati said that the proposal was taking the progress made so far backwards.

The committee met at the Grand Serail under Premier Najib Miqati.