SCC Vows to Go ahead with Strike, Sets Measures to Combat Cabinet Procrastination

The Syndicate Coordination Committee set on Saturday a plan highlighting its measures for the second week of its open-ended strike to protest the cabinet's procrastination over the new wage scale for public sector.

The SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, vowed to go ahead with its open-ended strike until the government refers urgently the new scale to the parliament.

“There are no more excuses. The Directorate General of Urban Planning approved a plan on the profits from real estate,” a statement issued by the SCC after a meeting in UNESCO with the protest committees that were formed at ministries said.

The committee warned the cabinet of further delaying the issue, rejecting any attempts to slap taxes on citizens or violating the rights of employees.

The SCC held the government responsible for the damages inflicted on the economy due to the strike, clarifying that the cabinet forced to escalate the measures.

It reiterated that official exams will not be held on time and will be postponed in respect to the days of the strike.

Earlier, SCC protesters went ahead in its protests near ministries across Lebanon for the fifth day in a row and staged a sit-in in front of the Finance Ministry in Beirut.

Head of the private school teachers association Nehme Mahfoud announced that the SCC will escalate its actions starting by Monday, revealing that all private schools will be shut.

“We will not halt our movement before the new wage scale is referred to parliament,” he added.

“This is a civilized strike and we hope that the ministers will respond to us in the same manner,” he continued.

Meanwhile, head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib called on the government to cease its stalling in referring the scale to parliament.

He called an end to excuses that the government is still studying means to fund the scale, saying that it can tackle this issue if Prime Minister Najib Miqati simply controlled corruption.

In addition, Gharib urged contract teachers at private schools to abide by the strike, renewing his call to hold a sit-in on Monday in front of the Central Bank in Beirut's Hamra neighborhood.

On Friday, the SCC held a demonstration near the Agriculture Ministry in Beirut's Bir Hassan area.

Protesters marched later toward the headquarters of the Economic Committees, a grouping of the country's businessmen and owners of major firms.

The SCC considers that the Committees are playing a major role in delaying the referral of the draft-law, accusing them of corruption.

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.