Lebanese government condemns ‘wage scale’ teacher demo

The Lebanese government condemned on Wednesday a demonstration held in protest at the cabinet’s failure to approve a new wage scale for teachers and public sector employees. Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said: "We reject such an undermining of the authority of the state," adding that an agreement had been reached with the representatives of teachers on a majority of their demands and that the government was therefore surprised that they chose to escalate their action and hold a strike. "Given the critical developments in the region, we cannot accept threats against social and financial stability in Lebanon," he stressed. The demonstration, organised by the Syndicate Coordination Committee, began at Beirut’s Barbir region, before heading to the Grand Serail in downtown Beirut at 10:00am, where cabinet was in session. The committee, which is a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, recently said they would not correct official school exams in protest at the government’s failure to include the new salariy scale in the state budget. Daouq warned in his statement that SCC’s latest move could affect the future of more than 100,000 students, and could put a strain on the state's treasury too. On Tuesday, the committee held sit-ins near several ministries and state institutions across the country.