Several public sector unions call for protest Wednesday at Riad Solh Square to oppose 2027 budget draft

BEIRUT — Several public sector unions have called for a protest Wednesday in downtown Beirut against the government’s 2027 budget draft, which they say fails to address the collapse in public employees’ purchasing power and does not provide a meaningful increase in salaries.

The League of Public Administration threatened to escalate its action, while the Full-Time Staff Union at the Lebanese University and the Justice Auxiliaries’ Union called on public employees to gather at 11 a.m. at Riad Solh Square, near the Grand Serail. The calls came as the Cabinet began examining the 2027 budget on Tuesday. The unions’ calls followed a day of protests over the draft. On Tuesday evening, a number of retired military personnel blocked the road at Riad Solh Square and burned tires, demanding higher retirement pensions. According to the National News Agency (NNA), they also sent up tents on the square.

“While civil servants continue to carry out their duties at the cost of great sacrifice, the government remains deaf to their struggles and to the collapse of their purchasing power,” the League said in a statement. “Instead of doing them justice, the 2027 budget draft provides no serious solution to the issue of salaries and compensation. It suggests patchwork solutions that undermine the principle of equality, which is a constitutional right, and attempts to divide civil servants,” the union added, expressing its rejection of such a reality.

Since the collapse of the Lebanese Lira in 2019 and the devaluation of salaries, civil servants have received a number of adjustments and social aid, but their wages have still not recovered their pre-crisis value.

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Effective and equitable salary increase

The League is demanding, in particular, an “effective and equitable increase in salaries,” with a raise corresponding to “11 times the current amount starting at the beginning of 2026, as was approved by the Cabinet during its Feb. 16, 2026 session.” The union is asking for this measure to be included in the budget figures before its adoption, in order to allow civil servants to recover part of their purchasing power and preserve their dignity and their right to fair compensation.

Other demands include an increase in the transportation allowance, rejection of the arrears payment installment mechanism proposed by the Ministry of Finance, adoption of a new salary scale, and the introduction of indexation based on price developments.

The Full-Time Faculty League at the Lebanese University has harshly criticized the 2027 budget draft, stating that it “does not take into account the decision adopted by the Cabinet on Feb. 16, 2026, providing for an elevenfold increase in salaries and pensions, with implementation to begin Jan. 1, 2027.” The union considers this omission “a direct attack on the rights of public employees, and a dangerous step back from the government’s commitments.” This comes amid “worsening economic, health, and social crises, and a vertiginous rise in prices.”

At the close of the Cabinet session, Information Minister Paul Morcos specifically addressed the issue of retired military personnel. “The government is surprised by the protests of retired military personnel. However, it has tasked a ministerial committee with meeting them in order to find a solution,” he said, noting that the Cabinet must still meet several more times to deliberate on the 2027 budget draft.