The open-ended strike of public sector employees in Lebanon has entered its fourth week, resulting in a complete paralysis of institutions and administrations, halting people's affairs entirely. Complicating matters further, on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday, Minister of Labor Mustafa Berham withdrew from his mediation between the government and the employees after the "Union of Public Employees" accused him of betraying his commitments and undermining their rights.
The complete separation between the two parties has made solutions entirely closed, especially in the absence of any mediator between the government and the state employees who are determined to escalate their actions. However, the Minister of Labor blamed the employees and held them responsible for their failure to achieve their demands. In a statement to "Asharq Al-Awsat," Minister Berham noted that he "volunteered to convey the workers' demands to the government, even though this task is not within his jurisdiction, but rather the collective responsibility of the government."
He stated: "Since I am part of the public sector and understand the employee's pain, being the most vulnerable and affected by the collapsing economic situation, I took it upon myself from the outset to draft the ministerial statement for the (caretaker) government to adopt their demands, and I informed Prime Minister Najib Mikati that I stand with the employees and tried to include improving their conditions and increasing their salaries among the government's priorities."
Public sector employees announced a general strike on June 13, protesting the deteriorating economic conditions and the government's disregard for their living demands, including wage adjustments, increased transportation allowances, and improved social services. The Minister of Labor believes the open-ended strike "has harmed the legitimacy of the employees' demands." He continued, saying, "While I acknowledge the validity of their demands and their right to exert pressure, I have tried to confront the open strike and convince them that this approach undermines the state's revenues, which are responsible for their salaries, and pits them against the people who have seen their affairs disrupted."
The President of the "Union of Public Administration Employees," Nawal Nasr, criticized the Labor Minister's mediation and emphasized the continuation of the open strike as long as its justified causes exist, describing them as powerful, pressing, and unacceptable. She remarked, "We were compelled to go on this strike, and if we lived in a normal state, there would be no such thing as a strike; yet it seems that a Lebanese citizen only receives their minimum rights by going on strike."
In response to the challenge posed by the employees, the Minister of Labor referred their issues to the government and called for them to negotiate through the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, rejecting what he termed "verbal assaults" against him. He added: "I requested my fellow employees to be objective; part of the administration is ineffective, and many employees only work two days a week, yet I advised them to launch a general campaign that wouldn’t cause them to lose public sympathy, but they have entered an open strike that puts them in conflict with the people."
Minister Berham concluded: "I still adopt the employees' demands, but I have observations about managing the file." In contrast, public sector workers refuse to position themselves in opposition to the citizens, asserting that they, like the Lebanese people, are "victims of the policies that have led the country to bankruptcy and collapse."
One member of the "Union of Employees" explained the reasons behind the disagreement with the Minister of Labor. Speaking to "Asharq Al-Awsat," he said: "From the beginning of the negotiations, we agreed with the Minister to convince the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to convert the employee's current salary from Lebanese pounds to dollars at an exchange rate of 1500 pounds per dollar, then shifting to a rate of 8000 pounds per dollar." The union member, who requested anonymity, noted that "a salary that does not exceed 1.5 million pounds, when divided by 1500 pounds, equates to 1000 dollars, and when calculated at the rate of 8000 pounds per dollar, the salary becomes 8 million pounds."
He pointed out that instead of continuing to support their demand, the Minister returned with a bundle of solutions that involve providing financial assistance equivalent to the monthly salary, capped at 6 million pounds and a minimum of 4 million, along with a transportation allowance of 95 thousand pounds for each working day, highlighting that the disagreement with the Minister stemmed from the fact that "he initially agreed with the union’s proposal but later changed his mind and stuck to the plan that benefits no one."
The union member disclosed that "what angered the employees was the leak of confirmed information about the acceptance of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to convert the salaries of judges at the exchange rate of 1500 pounds, then calculating them at the rate of 8000 pounds, meaning that the salary of the lowest-ranking judge would not be less than 37 million Lebanese pounds."
