Lebanon is expected to witness escalating protest movements; in case the government decides to decrease in the wages or benefits in its draft budget for 2019.
Lebanon's cabinet holds almost daily meetings to end the working on a budget that is trying to control a huge deficit, that is one of the world's biggest public debt.
On Monday, hundreds of citizens protested in front of the government headquarters against the draft budget, which is expected to indebt the Lebanese for years before the financial recovery of the country, according to the Minister of Media, Jamal Jarrah.
Press reports stated that there were concerns that the budget would decrease wages, pensions and benefits for the public sector employees, including the retired soldiers and central bank employees.
The unions warned of the people’s anger as a result of the protests that would take place, in case the government’s imposition of tax increases or policies that would harm workers.
The Lebanese government did not reach an agreement on the draft general budget, during its meeting on Wednesday, and postponed the final reading of the figures of this budget to Friday.
Lebanon faced an annual inflation rate of 7.06 per cent, last year, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics’ Consumer Price Index , by dividing the sector allocations following the government's proposal to "balance between ministries", with 35 per cent for the workers’ monthly salaries and the same ratio for debt servicing , in addition to 10.5 per cent for the Lebanon Electricity Corporation, 8.5 per cent for investment and 11 per cent for current expenditures.
#Lebanon #escalation #decrease #wages #pensions
English 
العربية