SCC Protesters Express Anger at Cabinet Procrastination on 2nd Day of Strike
The Syndicate Coordination Committee staged on Wednesday sit-ins for the second day in a row to protest the cabinet's failure to refer the new wage scale for public employees to the parliament.
Protesters gathered near the Value Added Tax headquarters in Beirut, holding banners demanding the government to meet its demands.
“The 2-day strike is only the beginning... We will go ahead with our escalations and decide the next steps in our upcoming meeting,” head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib told protesters.
Demonstrators called on the families of the students and school administrations to support their demands, stressing that they will compensate for the students any delay in the school year.
SCC member Mohammed Qassem pointed out that “the public employees and teachers will remain united until the new wage scale is referred to the parliament.”
Other sit-ins were held outside the Grand Serails and ministries in different Lebanese cities.
Earlier, head of the private school teachers association Nehme Mahfoud said in comments to Future television that the SCC “will base its stance (whether to escalate its measures) on the decision that the cabinet will take during its session” on Wednesday.
He held the government responsible for the actions undertaken by the SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees.
On Monday, the SCC warned of an open-ended strike if the cabinet failed to carry out its promises.
Labor Minister Salim Jreissati told voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that the “battle” staged by the SCC is useless.
“The new salary scale has been approved. We are just looking for the adequate funds,” he pointed out.
The procrastination of the government in finding sources to fund the new scale has deepened the gap with the SCC, which is accusing the government of negligence over its failure to meet its demands.
However, the cabinet argues that it's delaying the issue 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 as there are over 180,000 public sector employees including military personnel.
Earlier this year, the cabinet approved the new salaries scale for public employees.
The wages increase will be retroactive from July 1, 2012.
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