Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati during a meeting at the Grand Serail, Feb. 17, 2023. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati scheduled a cabinet session for next week to discuss the financial crisis and its repercussions, the cabinet secretary-general announced Thursday.
According to the official invitation sent to the ministers, the session will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday. During the meeting, caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil will present the financial and monetary situation and discuss its repercussions on "different sectors, including public sector employees and retirees."
Labor Minister Moustafa Bayram will also discuss repercussions on "all employees subjected to the labor law." Employees of the public sector are currently on strike to protest deteriorating living conditions.
Employees of the state-owned telecommunication company Ogero also announced an open strike Thursday to demand better salaries. Earlier this week, public technical school teachers earlier announced the resumption of their open strike that started at the beginning of the year. The syndicates of public school teachers ended the strike earlier this month, but it appears large numbers of teachers did not abide by the syndicate's decision.
Lebanon is currently experiencing a double executive vacuum, without a president and a government in caretaker status.
Following the end of former-president Michel Aoun's term, Parliament agreed that the cabinet will not convene except in cases of emergency, but the cabinet has met four times since then.
These meetings were met with criticism from the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces, both Christian parties.