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Employees in the public administrations have decided to maintain their months-long strike for another month, with an attendance of one day per week “for those who can,” starting September 6 until October 13.
The Union’s administrative board called on employed colleagues and those in all public sector to protest in front of the Serail simultaneously with the Cabinet session scheduled to discuss the 2024 budget.
In a statement issued in the evening of Monday, September 4, the administrative board expressed its frustration with the government’s inaction on their demands. “The basic salary for 80% of employees ranges between $11 and $20, with their allowances going sometimes below $250. These salaries, even with deductions taken into account, still range between $130 and $140. To receive them, they must attend work for 14 days, incurring additional expenses such as transportation fees, ranging from eight to 14 million LBP,” the statement added.
In this vein, civil servants reiterated their demands, as they suggested dollarizing salaries and pension payments, albeit partially, with a minimum threshold of no less than $700 or its equivalent in the national currency from time to time. They also called for adjusting the value of compensation payments that have been or will be paid, based on the percentage of the incurred loss.
They also called for ending the freeze on family compensation values that were frozen in the 1990s at 33,000 LBP for children and 66,000 LBP for wives, as they proposed a periodic recalculation of these values based on the minimum wage.
Furthermore, their demands included providing public sector employees with transportation allowances calculated based on the distance between the employee’s residence and workplace, according to the current gasoline price and on a periodical basis.
They called for increasing educational grants and social benefits in line with the rising cost of living and current school fees.
