Picture: Al Modon Electronic Newspaper – Lebanon

By Bassem Chit, Beirut
Monday 25 February 2013

The Lebanese Trade Union Coordination Committee (TUCC) is still continuing its open strike for the seventh day, Public sector employees, public schools teachers, and private school teachers have been on strike since last Tuesday 19/2/2013. Sit-ins and protests are being held on a daily basis infront of the offices of the different ministries, strike committees have been organized in different workplaces to support and sustain the strike. The main demand of the strikers is to approve the new wages scale, the state has responded by attacking the strikers of attempting to bankrupt the state. The Economic Bodies League (the trade union for the bosses and capitalists) has responded by saying: “We are give orders, and we do not take them”, which stems from their rejection of the proposal to fund the new wages scale should be funded by raising the taxes on the owners of businesses.

In response the TUCC, have called for the continuation of the strike and have today [Monday Feb 25, 2013] called sit-ins in front of the schools whose administrations have threatened to sack teachers who participate in the strike, in an attempt to prevent students as well as teachers of these schools from attending today.

Per-hour contractual School teachers and Public sector employees, earn around 6,500 LBP (4.3$) per working hour, while not benefiting form any social security benefits nor medical insurance.

What you can do:

• Rush messages of support to the strikers – email menasolidarity@gmail.com or leave a comment below this article
• Post a solidarity message on Facebook – the Lebanese Teachers’ Union Facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/nakabi.teachers or put it on our Facebook wall and we will send to Lebanon. Signs to download and print out and use for photographs are here:  Tax the rich – Decent pay for teachers – strike/solidarity