Workers and employees of the Union of Baalbeck Municipalities demanding the payment of their wages on 4 April 2024. (Courtesy of Sarah Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BAALBECK — Civil servants working for the Baalbeck governorate staged a protest outside the Baalbeck Governorate buildings on Friday, demanding 15 months of unpaid wages.
Employees of the Union of Baalbeck Municipalities are demonstrating following two years during which the union did not receive any payments from the Independent Municipal Fund. Funding for government-issued work phones was also missing for the last two years.
The workers called on the Ministry of Finance to release the outstanding funds. During the protest, several of them spoke about the hardships they are enduring despite their continuous commitment to work without interruption.
The Baalbeck governorate was heavily bombed by the Israeli army during its all-out war with Hezbollah from September to November of last year.
The violence compounded already existing economic strain. Lebanese public sector employees have faced deteriorating living conditions as the lira has lost more than 90 percent of its value amid soaring inflation since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2019.
Reporting contributed by L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah.
Rubio condemns Iran's 'outrageous' attacks on Kuwait
