Protest on the Ring expressway in downtown Beirut against the increases voted by the government, Feb. 17, 2026. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
President Joseph Aoun on Friday praised the “incredible resilience” of workers in Lebanon, in a message addressed to them on the X account of the Lebanese presidency, on the occasion of Labor Day. Meanwhile, numerous labor unions spoke out about the socio-economic difficulties they are facing in Lebanon.
A new strike movement in the public sector is being examined by the Civil Servants’ League for the civil service, the group announced Friday, at a time when the devastating war in Lebanon has led to a freeze in wage increases in the sector, even though they were approved by the government in February in response to social outcry.
In his message on X, President Aoun said he “fully recognizes the magnitude of the challenges you [the workers]are facing, from the cost of living to economic fluctuations, as well as the consequences of successive crises on your daily life,” while noting their “remarkable resilience and determination to work and produce.”
He also emphasized that he had “worked, in cooperation with the government [of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam], to initiate a process of reforms aimed at improving the economic situation and restoring stability, before the recent war hit the country and further complicated the situation.” “We will continue all possible efforts to rebuild what has been destroyed,” he promised.
Lebanon has already suffered at least $3 billion in losses related to the war between Hezbollah and Israel since it resumed on March 2, according to Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, and is struggling to find funding.
Call for 'serious reforms'
For its part, the Civil Servants’ League announced, in a statement published on this May 1 day, a date historically dedicated to wage and union demands, “that it is holding intensive consultations in order to set strike days for next week, so that the next stage will be supported and backed by the majority of civil service employees,” following an initial strike at the start of this week, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
This strike movement was triggered following remarks by the finance minister, who said last Friday to the daily al-Akhbar that he was “not ready at the moment to pay out $800 million per year [the estimated cost of public sector wages].”
Noting that Labor Day “comes amid extremely difficult economic and social conditions,” the president of the Lebanese Federation of Tourism and Hotel Unions, Pierre Achkar, issued his own warning about his sector, addressed to the “public and private sectors.” “Serious reforms, economic recovery, as well as stability and lasting peace are no longer options, but urgent necessities to protect livelihoods and restore confidence in Lebanon as a distinctive tourist destination,” he wrote in a statement.
For his part, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Tripoli and the North, Toufic Dabboussi, called on officials to “assume their national responsibilities in this critical phase, by restoring the functioning of state institutions, consolidating security and stability, facing ongoing aggression, and launching a real rescue process that prioritizes supporting and protecting workers,” according to NNA.
The Federation of Workers’ and Health Unions in the Bekaa, a region severely affected by Israeli bombings in March and April, praised the workers of Lebanon who “face unprecedented economic and social challenges daily, in a context of ongoing crises affecting vital sectors, notably health and services.”
Finally, the agricultural workers’ union argued that “the food security boasted of by officials is just an empty slogan unless it is translated into concrete actions that have a tangible impact on the lives of workers and laborers.” Some 1.2 million people in Lebanon are threatened by acute food insecurity related to the war, according to a study published Wednesday by U.N. organizations and the Lebanese Agriculture Ministry.
