Ghosn Confirms May 3 Strike: We Won’t Stay Silent over Govt. that is Seeking to Impoverish its People

The head of the General Labor Confederation Ghassan Ghosn confirmed on Tuesday the general strike scheduled for May 3 in protest against the government policies regarding living conditions in Lebanon.

He announced on the occasion of Labor Day: “We will no longer remain silent over a government that is seeking to impoverish its people.”

“Labor Day this year goes beyond celebrating the occasion, but it is a day to struggle for human dignity and social justice,” he declared.

“We chose this day to confirm the strike in order to demand our rights from the government, which has distanced itself from the people’s concerns,” he added.

Ghosn said that the people are “teetering on the edge of poverty because of the rise in prices of consumer goods.”

“Their salaries are being eaten up by the high fuel prices … despite the GLC’s demands that the oil sector be released from the grips of monopolization and unjust taxes in order to limit the negative impact of the rise in global prices,” he continued.

He accused the government of granting private sector employees a wage hike, while those of the public sector have been excluded.

He accused the government of “disassociating itself from its social responsibilities and turning a blind eye to the selling of spoiled food.”

“We will no longer remain silent over a government that is spreading corruption and permitting bribes,” Ghosn said.

“We will no longer remain silent over the government’s squandering of public funds and failure to restore the country’s maritime territory,” he stated.

He announced that the GLC will reject any proposal aimed at increasing the Value Added Tax, warning the government against “repeating tragic measures that led to the weakening of the people’s consumer capabilities.”

“The government’s unjust policies have severely impacted various sectors, especially the industry, agricultural, financial, and real estate fields,” he noted.

Such policies have only helped increase unemployment in Lebanon, he said.

He therefore called on the government to “return to its ministerial statement, especially its pledge to change the economic situation to make it more productive.”