Collective Action
Sidon traders protest increased rent
Sidon’s traders and shop owners closed their shops and took to the streets Saturday protesting the increased rent on their leased shops in the city.
The increased rent is reportedly due to annual inflation. The Central Administration of Statistics have reported that inflation has increased by 17 percent in the last four years, and 4.48 percent in 2017 alone.
The inflation has added to the burden on traders in Sidon, already under pressure as a result of the city's recession.
Traders appealed to the Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian, asking them for help.
The head of the association of traders in Sidon and its suburbs, Ali al-Sharif, denounced the act, saying traders in Sidon have been paying taxes for the past ten years while others have not, despite rising inflation.