The President of the General Labor Union, Dr. Bashara Asmar, stated in a statement that "the continuous and skyrocketing rise in fuel prices reflects a determination and collusion among entities and shadow rooms pushing the country towards a major explosion. Otherwise, what does it mean for the price of a gasoline barrel to jump by around 25,000 Lebanese Lira overnight, exceeding 500,000 Lira, while diesel rises to 10,000 Lira, making the price of the barrel 600,000 Lira? What is happening is nothing but a continuation of crimes against the Lebanese people across all classes (workers, employees, military personnel, retirees, and low-income individuals) whose money has evaporated due to misguided policies, looting, and money smuggling."
He pointed out that "the General Labor Union, which has long called for dialogue to stop this criminal series, believes that after this serious development, rational dialogue seems unbeneficial and requests the government to continue supporting wheat and for the relevant authorities to immediately raise the transportation allowance to 150,000 Lira for each working day in both the private and public sectors, as well as to increase the value of the school grant and family compensation."
He added: "The union also demands that the Minister of Labor calls for an immediate meeting of the prices committee to discuss the seriousness and decisiveness regarding the minimum wage and its appendices and segments."
He concluded: "The union affirms that whether before the parliamentary elections on May 15 or after, it will not settle for issuing statements but will resort to the streets as the only remaining means available to it and the workers and people to put an end to this crime that has led to this major collapse."
