Civil servants hold strike outside public institutions

Lebanese civil servants staged on Tuesday several strikes outside different ministries and public institutions, following the call of Union Coordination Committee.  A general strike is expected to take place tomorrow in all ministries and public institutions.  

In a statement to LBCI, the head of the Union Coordination Committee Hanna Gharib stressed that there will be no turning back in the movements. He expressed surprise at the statement of Justice Minister Salim Jreissati regarding the civil servants, noting that “the law he talked about ended with time, because the struggles of the teachers have surpassed it”.         

“We are keen to safeguard the students' rights. We urge them to join our demonstration”, he added.             

For his part, Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas said on Tuesday that there is no basic or essential disagreement with the teachers, since the “principle of adjusting the pay scale is taken into consideration”. He stressed that the cabinet is studying this scale and its repercussions on the Lebanese society and economy.                

In a statement to LBCI, Nahhas noted that the teachers have secured most of their rights, stressing that the onus is on the cabinet to make a decision that does not harm the people’s interest. “Enough injustice”, he said.             

In turn, Education Minister Hassan Diab told LBCI that PM Najib Mikati was very cooperative with the demands of the coordinating committee and that the competent ministerial committee has done its part. He said that 80% of the committee’s demands were met, adding that there is no point of boycotting the official exams’ correction anymore, since the main issues have been solved.