The Finance Ministry's tax office in Beirut. (Credit: M.A./L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — Finance Ministry employees announced Thursday a weeklong strike, scheduled from Jan. 3 to Jan. 10, “that would act as a cry for help to safeguard public administration.”
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement issued to local media, the employees said the planned strike aims to urge the government to propose an “urgent recovery plan.”
• The statement came following a meeting to address the living conditions of public sector employees, and in particular those employed in the Ministry of Finance, attended by the heads of the ministry’s directorates of imports, value-added tax, budget, treasury, public accounting, public debt, administrative affairs and electronic services.
• Employees decried the deterioration of their purchasing power and exorbitant expenses, notably medical fees, amid the country’s economic collapse while comparing their salaries to those of employees in the private sector such that “first-degree public employees earned less than the lowest salary paid in most cases.”
• The statement also listed among the challenges faced by employees the spread of COVID-19 and the lack of renovations to the ministry’s offices, which were damaged by the 2020 Beirut port blast.