Collective Action
State employees strike over austerity measures in budget
Many state employees across Lebanon went on strike and some gathered in Martyrs' Square in protest against the draft 2019 state budget as lawmakers convened to discuss it.
The administrative committee of the League of Public Administration Employees called for a general strike in all administrations to protest the budget. The articles protested by the employees include Article 82, which would give employees 15 days of annual vacation instead of 20, and Article 90, which would require them to work for 25 years instead of 20 years before retiring.
Some of the striking employees joined retired primary and secondary education teachers in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, who gathered to protest an article in the draft budget that would impose an income tax on their pensions. Local TV channels reported that the retirees marched from Martyrs' Square to the nearby An-Nahar building.