Tripoli municipality employees block the gate of Banque Du Liban in the area, March 28, 2023. (Courtesy of: Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — Municipal employees in Tripoli blocked the gate to the local Banque du Liban (BDL) headquarters Tuesday morning for a second consecutive day, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the area reported.
The workers, who prevented BDL employees from entering their offices, are demanding payment of their March salaries at the central bank's Sayrafa platform exchange rate, as well as improved working conditions.
"The employees are in an unsustainable situation, they work for no more than a dollar a day," Omar Dalal, president of the municipal employees' union, said at the protest.
"The governor of the BDL is employing favoritism," Dalal added, in reference to central bank head Riad Salameh, who is being prosecuted by the Lebanese state for alleged corruption and money laundering. Salameh is also the subject of several European investigations. He has denied the allegations.
Dalal called for escalating the municipal employees' protest "until the demands are met."
Public employees are still paid in Lebanon's collapsing national currency, which has lost more than 98 percent of its value since October 2019.
Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak
BEIRUT — Municipal employees in Tripoli blocked the gate to the local Banque du Liban (BDL) headquarters Tuesday morning for a second consecutive day, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the area reported. The workers, who prevented BDL employees from entering their offices, are demanding payment of their March salaries at the central bank's Sayrafa platform exchange rate, as well as improved...