Fuel tankers block a road in Beirut during a general strike Thursday by public transport and workers unions over the country's economic crisis. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — Land transport unions head Bassam Tleis said that 98 percent of the unions’ drivers had committed to Thursday’s “day of anger” strike. The claim came during a press conference at which he declared that a meeting will be held on Monday to “announce the unions’ decisions.”
Here’s what we know:
• Roads in a number of areas in Lebanon were closed from 5 a.m. till 5 p.m. on Thursday due to a general strike called by the land transportation unions and the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers to protest deteriorating living conditions.
• Due to the difficult economic and living conditions, Tleis said “the commitment of drivers, their federations and their unions … reached 98 percent.”
• He said the strike covered a range of areas, including “Kesrouan, the south, Aley, the mountain [Mount Lebanon], the Bekaa and the north, which is enough to confirm the unity and cohesion of the sector under one leadership.”
• Tleis clarified that the land transport sector operates away from political affiliations. He added that “53,000 families are supported by this sector,” adding they are all Lebanese from different backgrounds.
• Talking to Voice of Lebanon radio station, Tleis stressed that his union will take other measures in the future without specifying their nature. This strike is “against the government which has not kept its promises to support the road transport sector,” added Tleis, who is affiliated with the Amal Movement.