REPORT: UCC calls for general and comprehensive strike on June 9, 10

The Union Coordination Committee called Wednesday for a general and comprehensive strike to be staged at all public administrations, ministries and municipalities across Lebanon on the 9th and 10th of June.

This comes after the head of the Private Schools Teachers Association Nehme Mahfoud stressed that only the teachers have the right to supervise the official exams, “in order for the process to be educational, rather than technical,” he explained.

In a statement to LBCI, Mahfoud regretted the failure to reach a solution, noting that over the past three days, there was no serious attempt to find a solution for the issue of the series of ranks and salaries.

In this regard, Mahfoud declared that the Union Coordinating Committee will resume its movements, stressing that it will not accept the cancellation of the Grade 9 (Brevet) official exams and give the students certificates from schools instead.

For his part, member of the Union Coordination Committee Hanna Gharib asserted on Wednesday that the fate of the Lebanese official exams is linked to the parliamentary session scheduled to take place on June 10.

He called on the Lebanese lawmakers to approve the pay scale, adding that "the UCC hoped that instead of postponing the official exams, the session would be held earlier."

Gharib's comments were made during the UCC sit-in held outside the VAT building in Beirut.

On Tuesday, Lebanese students staged a sit-in in the northern city of Tripoli, and voiced their rejection to the postponement of the official exams.

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab stated on Monday that all official exams will be postponed for 5 days.

He also expressed his hope that the cabinet would pass the series of ranks and salaries during its session on the 10th of June, emphasizing that he will not refrain from supporting the teachers who have a righteous demand.

The UCC has announced a comprehensive open-ended strike at all public institutions, pointing out that teachers will boycott the supervision and correction of official state exams.

In the same regard, the UCC stated that various escalatory measures will be adopted, stressing that a demonstration will be held on the 6th of June outside the ministry of education, with another to be held on the 7th of June outside the Directorate General of Technical & Vocational Education.

The Union Coordinating Committee resumed its movements a couple of months ago calling on the authorities to pass the pay scale, which stipulates a wage hike.

The decision to revive movements came as a result of the failure of the Joint Parliamentary Committees to resolve the dispute on the Value Added Tax in a proposal aimed at securing the funds for the salary scale that was approved by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati's cabinet.

Former PM Mikati's cabinet endorsed the new salary scale for public employees in 2012, ending a long dispute that had triggered several sit-ins and strikes held by the UCC.

Former President Michel Sleiman signed the decree mid-June 2013 and it was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committees for further examination, however the law was never passed to parliament.