On 25 September 2017, teachers and public sector employees followed through on their promise to hold a nationwide strike to demand implementation of the already-passed new salary scale after the recent repeal of the tax hike law.
Public and private schools joined the strike in solidarity with the Union Coordination Committee’s decision. Beshara al-Asmar, the president of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers, confirmed after meeting Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the day before that the confederation had planned a strike to pressure the government into paying the new salary scale starting Oct. 1, as is stipulated by the law.
The salary scale was passed in tandem with a tax hike law, which was annulled by the Constitutional Council last week, causing the government to scramble for alternative funding for the promised salaries in the absence of the new tax revenue.
This strike went on for five days. It paralysed public schools, along with street protests. On the 29th, the Cabinet was set to draft a new tax law and take legal measures to resolve the wage hike crisis, clearing the way for the payment of public sector employees’ salaries at the end of the month based on the new salary scale law.
Date of incident
September 25, 2017
Death toll
0 person(s)
Number of Injured
0 person(s)
Location
Bachoura
Primary category
Collective Action [inc. protests, solidarity movements...]
Classification of conflict (primary)
Policy conflicts
Classification of conflict (secondary)
Conflicts of socio-economic development
