Teachers in Beirut vow to extend strike

Leaders of a teachers’ union in Lebanon called for the government to pass a wage hike, as an open-ended strike continued Wednesday. The strike that began in mid-February has affected government operations and public schools, The Beirut Daily Star reported. Teachers took to the streets Wednesday in Beirut carrying signs demanding the Cabinet refer a wage hike measure to Parliament. “Unleash the salary scale,” one sign read. “Be ready for a general strike across Lebanon if the pay scale is not referred to Parliament this week,” Hanna Gharib, head of the Union Coordination Committee, said at a midday rally in downtown Beirut, according to UPI. “It is the beginning of the hunger revolution in Lebanon,” he said, vowing to keep the strike going as long as necessary.