Teachers strike ongoing in Lebanon

A union leader in Beirut on Wednesday told striking teachers the strike would go on until the Cabinet forwarded a wage hike measure to the country's Parliament. "The battle of the public sector will not be deterred one iota," until demands are met, The Beirut Daily Star quoted Hanna Gharib, head of the Union Coordination Committee as saying at a downtown rally. Two days before a national day of recognition for teachers, Gharib said the teachers would not go home until the wage issue was resolved. There was at least one other rally being held Wednesday – in Tripoli in North Lebanon – the newspaper said. The strike, considered an open-ended work action, began Feb. 19. The government under Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said it does not know where the money would come from to give teachers a raise. The government "refuse(s) to finance the salary scale from (revenues) from (coastal properties) or from corruption," Gharib said. "Coastal property belongs to you, citizens. Reclaim this property," he said in a rally speech.