Passengers at Beirut International Airport. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
BEIRUT — Beirut Airport technicians announced on Monday that they will go on strike from Wednesday, June 2 at 8 p.m. until Thursday, June 16 at 6 a.m. to protest the deterioration of their working conditions, as Lebanon continues to suffer from its unprecedented economic crisis.
Here’s what we know:
• In a press release, the technicians announced "suspending their night work" and threatened "an escalation [of measures] if the working conditions of the employees were not improved.”
• They also criticized the sharp decrease in the purchasing power of their salaries, paid in Lebanese lira, which has lost more than 90 percent of its value since the beginning of the economic crisis in October 2019. “We hope not to be forced to resort to escalation at a later date in case the situation for employees does not improve,” they warned, adding that they call for “very urgent solutions that can be quickly implemented and found.”
• The technicians also clarified that the services they offer will be suspended, noting however that the flights of ministers, search and rescue, relief and urgent cases will be exempt from their strike.
*Correction: An earlier version of this article had said that the airport technician's strike would begin on May 15, when in reality it will begin on June 6. The article has been updated to reflect this information.