UCC calls for general strike on Oct. 10

Lebanon’s Union Coordination Committee announced a general strike on Oct. 10, vowing not to back down from demanding a public sector salary increase. “We insist on our demand that the Cabinet forward the [salary scale law draft for endorsement in Parliament,” a post-meeting statement by the public sector and teachers gathering said. The Cabinet had endorsed the draft law last month but has yet to forward it to Parliament. “Officials, authorities, Economic Committees who think we will remain idle in their attempts to block the new scale, they are utterly mistaken,” the statement said. “Confronted by the offensive by the Economic Committees and procrastination by the government, we will embark on escalatory steps starting from the general strike to an open strike [that could] stop studies in both private and public schools.” The statement also rejected attempts by the government to link the approval of the draft law to passing new taxes needed to fund it. According to the statement, the UCC will hold a demonstration on Oct. 10 starting from UNESCO Palace to the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut. From DailyStar