President of Lebanon’s General Labor Confederation Bechara al-Asmar. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — The General Confederation of Workers in Lebanon announced, in a statement Monday, that it will postpone the strike it had planned for Wednesday until Feb. 16 “due to bad weather and citizens' sensitivity to the earthquake that struck Lebanon.”
The winter storm currently hitting Lebanon is has caused damage and cut off roads in both the north and south of the country.
In addition, early Monday morning Lebanon's residents awoke to the tremors from a huge earthquake that hit a southern Turkish town.
The 7.8 magnitude quake, which hit the town of Nurdagi some 450km from Beirut, caused fatalities in both Turkey and Syria and was also felt in Iraq and Cyprus. The National Geophysical Center of Lebanon also reported an undersea tremor, between Lebanon and Cyprus, of magnitude 4.8 on the Richter scale.
The quakes caused many residents across Lebanon to rush from their homes, fearful of the impact an earthquake would have on dilapidated buildings and the country’s already fragile infrastructure.
President of Confederation of Workers in Lebanon Bechara al-Asmar, had called for a nationwide general strike to take place on Feb. 8 to protest the continued deterioration of workers' quality of life, especially following the record depreciation of the national currency and soaring fuel prices.
In recent years, the confederation has organized several strikes to demand improved working conditions in Lebanon.