The administrative body of the Public Administration Employees Association announced its rejection of circulated news regarding productivity and gasoline allowances and confirmed its continuation of the strike until its demands are met. A statement issued at the conclusion of an emergency meeting stated, "Following the circulation of a version of a decree that includes providing a productivity allowance for public administration employees and state employee cooperatives, which would convert employees into temporary workers with accompanying conditions to receive this bonus, the most notable and bizarre among them being the requirement of mandatory attendance days set at a minimum of four days per week to receive the productivity specified in the decree, along with the usual threats of referral to inspection for those who fail to implement the decision."
The statement further indicated, "The administrative body of the association, facing this reality that disregards its legitimate demands, ignores the economic situation and the collapse of the national currency, which has turned the country into a foreign entity dealing in dollars up to 90%. It also neglects that the rights of employees are a debt owed by the state that they request only a little from, and that public administration employees are the elite of the elite in this nation, having gone through a difficult process to qualify for public office due to their high qualifications and degrees."
The statement continued, "Since the government has not found a solution to convert salaries into dollars at a unified exchange rate for administrative employees that aligns with the minimum of what employees have lost, which we requested to be at the official dollar rate of 15,000 Lebanese pounds, and a transport allowance for each day of attendance set between 7 and 10 liters of gasoline (depending on the distance from the workplace). Given that employees have prior experience with the previous decision on productivity, which they saw only as humiliation and injustice, they view the upcoming decision as a recurring trap without considering the needs of employees and their families, who have fallen below the poverty line, instead of rectifying salaries and wages with at least a minimum of justice that cannot be reconciled with any increase that is not accompanied by stability and certainty in its exchange rate. The association sees that a solution is possible and not impossible if the decision is made to achieve justice and return rights. It rejects compliance with external pressures (International Monetary Fund or others) aimed at dismantling the administration and pushing its staff to resign and migrate, thus opening the floodgates to terminate the public sector and replace it with chaotic privatization as has become apparent."
The statement also mentioned, "The draft decree did not contain any indication, directly or indirectly, of any solution to the healthcare problem, which is shocking and condemnable, as if the illness of employees and their family members, including children and the elderly, and their pain and deaths have completely exited the circle of interest of those in charge, making its acceptance axiomatic for them. While the association confirms the continuation of efforts by all available means to confront this decision and correct the course to recover all lost, granted, and stolen rights, foremost among them the dignity of the employee and the public job, it reaffirms its demands as follows: 1. Increase salaries and wages by two additional months and incorporate them into the previous increase within the salary, converting it to dollars calculated on a platform not exceeding 15,000 Lebanese pounds, the officially announced rate for the dollar. 2. Ensure full coverage for healthcare and medical treatment, and raise the value of education grants in accordance with rising school fees. 3. Provide employees with adequate transportation allowances related to distances and the price of a gallon of gasoline, or at least covering the price of 8 liters of fuel daily, as 80% of them traverse various areas and governorates to reach their workplaces. 4. Implement the provisions of the State Council decision that includes correcting the mechanism for calculating workers' wages, as stipulated in Law No. 46/2017 (salary scale). 5. Grant hourly contractors, invoice workers, and temporary workers all health and social benefits and education grants."
The body announced, "We will continue the strike for another week until Friday, March 3, 2023, during which further escalation steps will be determined that will not end until rights are restored." It also confirmed that meetings will remain open to monitor developments.
