Civil servants across Lebanon began a two-week strike Monday. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Public administration employees across Lebanon began a two-week strike Monday demanding improved wages and transportation allowances, League of Public Administration Employees member Ibrahim Nahal told L'Orient Today.
Nahal added the League of Public Administration Employees, a workers' union, plan to escalate if their demands remain ignored, "which is what we expect to happen."
Public sector workers, paid exclusively in Lebanese lira, have seen their salaries depreciate in tandem with the local currency amid a deepening nationwide economic crisis since 2019.
Stopgap measures such as the 2022 budget’s tripling of base salaries have fallen far short of making up even a fraction of the lost purchasing power of lira-compensated employees.
After visiting several public institutions in Tripoli on Monday, Nahal said that around 90 percent of public administration employees abided by the strike in Tripoli while a majority abided by the strike across the rest of the country.
He said that the employees who did not go on strike Monday were compelled to continue working as they are part of important fields such as the health sector.
Among the key demands of the public administration employees are improved transportation allowances, healthcare coverage and improved wages.
"We are demanding the minimum, minimum livelihood [means]," Nahal said. "We are not asking for more than that, so that we may continue living."
Nahal added that the league has also requested they be paid their transportation fees in liters of gasoline per distance from the employees' residences to their office, instead of a fixed allowance.
"It has become impossible to reach our workplaces, and the state has begun to deal with the employee as if they are purchasing services from them, and it has neglected its duty to provide medical treatment, hospitalization and social benefits," he also said.
Nahal said the union met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati several weeks ago to discuss the issue but a solution has yet to materialize.
"We don't want to strike, but the government is forcing us to," Nahal said. "They are enjoying our pain."
He accused the state of "selling the public sector."
Strikes have been widespread in Lebanon recently, including, notably, a teacher's strike that started in December.