SCC Holds onto Open-Ended Strike, Escalates Measures

The Syndicate Coordination Committee went ahead with its open-ended strike on Friday by staging a demonstration near the Agriculture Ministry in Beirut's Bir Hassan area.

Angry protesters began rallying at 9:30 a.m. after calls by the SCC officials on Wednesday to escalate their endeavors over the cabinet's failure to refer the new wage scale for public employees to the parliament.

Head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib told protesters that the SCC will hold a meeting with the protest committees formed in all ministries on Saturday to set a plan highlighting their measures.

“We will protest on Monday near the Central Bank, the Tourism Ministry and all the institutions nearby at 10:00 a.m.,” Gharib said.

He called on all public institution employees to heavily participate in the SCC strike, urging the government to meet their demands.

The state-run National News Agency reported that SCC protesters also blocked the road near Prime Minister Najib Miqati's residence in the northern city of Tripoli.

For his part, head of the private school teachers association Nehme Mahfoud warned private schools administrations of taking any measure against teachers that participate in the SCC strike.

“It is a right guaranteed by the law... We will take the necessary measures against those schools,” Mahfoud pointed out.

He stated that the protest committees formed in ministries “will not allow the facility to conduct any work.”

“We will shut down the country on Monday,” Mahfoud said.

Gharib noted that the SCC will stage a sit-in on Monday near the Central Bank, the Tourism Ministry and all the institutions nearby at 10:00 a.m.

Earlier, Gharib revealed in comments to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that a meeting will be held later in the day with Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

“We will meet with PM Miqati on Friday upon his request but we will reiterate our demands,” Gharib told the radio station.

The SCC official reiterated during Friday's protest that the committee rejects the payment of the new wage scale in installments.

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.