Lebanon sees strike wave

The employees, who haven’t received their salaries for more than three months, have been protesting for nearly five days despite the lack of official response to their strike.

The workers, who have frequently faced the problem of overdue salaries, accused the concerned authorities of negligence toward the medical facility that is now “on the verge of collapse.”

Last month the government approved a plan proposed by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour to tackle the mounting problems facing the Rafik Hariri hospital, after media reports alleged corruption in the medical facility, which was inaugurated in 2004.

There are also complaints about the hospital’s inability to provide medications to patients suffering from chronic diseases.

The facility, which is suffering from a severe cash flow problem, is operating way below its capacity of 400 to 450 beds.

Cabinet last week appointed Faisal Shatila as the new chief of the board of directors for the hospital, following the resignation of the former head, Dr Wassim al-Wazzan.

Cabinet is also set to provide the hospital with a loan amounting to around LL 20 billion ($ 13.3 million).

Moreover, Air traffic controllers will suspend work Wednesday for four hours in yet another protest against the government's failure to pass the public sector wage hike.

“The recent delay is nothing more than an attempt to waste time, force desperation into the minds of unions and force us to accept amended items in the salary scale draft law, which lawmakers claim are part of reform,” the committee of air traffic controllers said in a statement Monday.

Lawmakers have struggled to pass a draft law to increase the wages of civil servants and teachers due to disputes over means to finance the salary increase, which economists warn will burden the state’s treasury.

The Union Coordination Committee observed a one-week strike earlier this month to pressure Parliament to approve and pass the wage hike bill.

The UCC has held dozens of protests and strikes over the past three years in support of the long-awaited increase.

The air traffic controllers also criticized the proposal to increase the working hours of the public sector, describing it as a "means to serve a blow to the administration and subjugate civil servants."

“Air traffic controllers will stop working for all departing and arriving [flights] at the Rafik Hariri International Airport except for government planes and emergency cases from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as a warning action, to be followed by escalatory measure,” the statement said.