A poster with the word "Strike" printed on it in Arabic. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Lebanese public sector employees have vowed to continue their strike into next week, citing government inaction on long-standing demands amid a deepening economic crisis, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Sunday.
The strike, which began on Jan. 19, is set to continue through Sunday, Jan. 25, NNA reported.
The Association of Public Education said it will strike on Tuesday and stage a sit-in Wednesday at 11 a.m. in front of the Education Ministry, warning that unresolved salary adjustments could trigger “further escalation.”
The association, coordinating with the Gathering of Public Sector Leagues, called on “all workers in all public administrations to continue escalation and to remain on strike,” adding that the walk out is in response to “the government's continued disregard of employees’ demands,” despite meetings with top officials, including the president, prime minister, Parliament speaker, ministers, and parliamentary bloc leaders. The association described the meetings as yielding “nothing but promises with no implementation.”
In a statement, the association accused the government of neglecting the “severe social, financial and livelihood crisis” facing workers, adding that the stance “does not reflect a reformist approach to public administration nor a genuine effort to find solutions and rescue citizens from poverty and hunger.”
The association reiterated its key demands: approval of a new salary scale restoring wages to their 2019 pre-crisis levels by 2026, with adjustments for inflation and living costs; integration of all post-crisis salary increases into the base wage fairly; approval of a retirement charter for contracted and daily workers across all public sectors; and raising the retirement age to 68.
It also warned against any attempts to reduce retirement pensions or infringe on workers’ rights of beneficiaries, saying such measures would contravene the law and exacerbate social hardship in the absence of a comprehensive social policy that protects citizens.
Public sector salaries remain one of Lebanon’s most pressing challenges. Wages have lagged far behind inflation, while the civil service is criticized for its size, inefficiency and cost. Before the economic collapse, salaries accounted for roughly one-third of the state budget — about $15 billion — with an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 civil servants, including the armed forces.
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