SCC Presses ahead with Strike Plan, Vows to 'Paralyze' Public Institutions

The Syndicate Coordination Committee will go ahead with its nationwide strike on Thursday after crunch talks at the cabinet failed to reach consensus over finding the appropriate resources for funding the new wages scale for public employees.

Head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that the SCC granted the government several chances to refer the new salaries scale to the parliament, but it “failed to meet its promises.”

The cabinet “already approved the new wages scale. There's no justification to not referring it” to the parliament, Gharib pointed out.

“We don't trust the government anymore and don't believe it,” he stated.

Gharib reiterated the SCC's threats to “paralyze the public administration and educational sector.”

On Wednesday, the cabinet convened at the Baabda Palace and failed once again to reach a final agreement on the sources of funding for the new wages scale adopted in early September, postponing discussions to an October 31 session.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has constantly said that his cabinet will not back down on the new wages scale draft law and he will not yield to the pressure exerted by the SCC to refer it to the parliament until the adequate funding sources are found.

The general strike staged by the SCC on Thursday failed to attain the approval of the Catholic Schools as its Secretary General Father Boutros Azar told al-Joumhouria newspaper that it disassociated itself from the matter.

“Unfortunately, the issue reached a level where the teachers now have the right to solely decide the opening or closing of schools, neglecting the interests of the students and school administration,” Azar added.

Last week, the SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, held a sit-in near the Grand Serail, threatening to “paralyze” the public sector if the cabinet delayed further referring the draft law to the parliament.

In September, the cabinet approved the new salaries scale for public employees, ending a long dispute that has prompted the SCC to hold several sit-ins and strikes.

The wages increase will be retroactive from July 1, 2012, but the salary adjustments would be paid in installments over a period of five years, although funding resources to cover the costs are still not clear.