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The land transport sector will witness a general strike on November 18, to protest the slowness of the procedures for the formation of the new Lebanese government.
The federations and unions of the land transport sector in Lebanon announced a general strike on November 18, blocking roads in all Lebanese regions, while the head of the General Union of Workers hinted at an escalation and organized nearby movements if it was not formed. the government after assigning Saad Hariri to the task last week. .
This came after a meeting held by the federations on Monday, in the presence of the president of the General Union of Workers, Bechara Al Asmar, where various social issues were discussed in addition to the decision to lift subsidies for fuels, medicines and consumables. expected to be taken due to the high dollar exchange rate and the inability of the Central Bank to secure sufficient funds.
The head of the federations, Bassam Talis, spoke about the lifting of subsidies, saying: “The General Union of Workers had repeatedly warned against the lifting of subsidies for medicines and basic materials because any damage to this support would fly socially to the country, and today, on the threshold of forming a new government, we place this file in your custody because the issue of the lawsuit and life deserves it. Our appreciation for the people who care about it is pure union action and we will fight to defend it, and in the face of the optimistic climate in the country, we are not going to put bumpers in the wheels because we are going to form a government to save the country economically and socially ” .
He added: “Out of our caution and our sense of responsibility, we announce our decision and the opportune moment to leave room for the future government to place the demands of the land transport sector at its highest priority to be included in the terms of the ministerial declaration.” . He announced that next Wednesday, November 18, will be the date of the general strike, movement, sit-ins and road blockades, indicating that “the unions will begin to prepare for them under the roof of the General Union of Workers.”
For his part, the president of the General Union, Bechara Al-Asmar, affirmed that “power is already in the street”, pointing out that the maneuvers led to the rapid assignment of a head of government, wishing speed in the drafting, and demanding that the General Union of Workers be among the consultations that will be held for the composition, and that the ministerial declaration include transportation plans and the dollar. Student and ongoing support for materials and commodities.
He said: «In the past we were called to continue supporting medicine due to its repercussions on the health situation, and today we are witnessing the collapse of the health system, so hospitals began to refrain from receiving patients unless they paid cash . We demand that this issue be addressed and that BDL circulars be fair to workers and people with limited incomes, and to facilitate the health situation, successive meetings are required under the auspices of the Minister of Health.
“Hospitals must receive patients and not abstain, so that this does not generate problems that negatively affect the medical system,” he stressed.
The central bank is using dwindling foreign exchange reserves to support important imports like wheat, fuel and medicine. Eliminating subsidies, which the central bank says could not last indefinitely, will cause further suffering.
Several meetings were held in Lebanon between officials and the Banque du Liban to discuss how to lift the subsidy and the mechanism that will be adopted to compensate it, after foreign exchange reserves fell unprecedentedly, as information indicates that there were only 1,000 and 800 million dollars, noting that the support costs a bank. Lebanon is about 600 million dollars. ”
Al-Asmar saluted the federations and unions of the land transport sector for announcing the strike within an agreement with the General Union of Workers on November 18, highlighting that “it will be a great movement and it could be before this date if we see a it fails in the formation of the government, which will push the union to call out to the streets with all of them. ” Economic organizations and civil society “.
