REPORT: Beirut air traffic controllers plan Thursday strike with UCC

                                    
Head of the Union Coordination Committee Hanna Gharib urged on Tuesday to mobilize the Lebanese people for a "historic protest on March 21 against the government," noting that the demonstration will seek to address strife and sectarian divisions.                   

In response to the assault on on two Dar al-Fatwa clerics in the Shiite area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq in Beirut on Sunday, Gharib said that those who back the demonstrations of the Union Coordinating Committee are against strife and confessional divisions.                   

Gharib reiterated his call for referring the salaries and ranks series to parliament for ratification.    
            
The protest will coincide with a cabinet session that will be held at Baabda palace presided by President Michel Suleiman on Thursday to discuss the establishment of the authority that would oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections and the funding of the ranks and salaries series.                    

Gharib urged all Lebanese people "without exception" to participate in the great march on Thursday.                

Gharib also saluted civil servants and teachers, calling them “heroes” for being part of the UCC's "fight for equality".                  

Gharib called on Prime Minister Najib Mikati not to yield to the Economic Committees and to support the people.

Air traffic controllers at Beirut airport plan a four-hour strike on Thursday as part of public sector action to pressure  the government to refer a new wage scale to parliament.
   
The strike will affect flights in and out of Beirut's Rafik Hariri airport between 10 am and 2 pm (0800-1200 GMT), they said in a statement issued late on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the UCC kicked off its sit in outside the Ministry of Justice and the Justice Palace.                        

The employees of the Ministry of Justice and the Justice Palace suspended all trial sessions and joined the protesters.                  

The Union Coordinating Committee launched its open ended strike on February 19th 2013 after making repeated called on Prime Minister Mikati to validate the new salary scale and consequently refer it to Parliament for ratification.                

The government endorsed a minimum wage hike last December, which became retroactively operative in February 2012, for both private and public sector employees.                  

The minimum monthly wage was fixed at $450, effectively rising by $116 (LL175,000) for those on the minimum pay.                   

Upon the recommendation of the Central Bank and Economic Committees, the Prime Minister has suggested that the payment of the wage hike be made in installments to keep inflation under control and avoid a widening budget deficit.                        

The union leader Hanna Gharib, however insists that no compromise on their demands will be accepted, stating that the salary hike should be paid in one go using alternative resources.


LBCI/REUTERS


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