Unions are to launch a general strike in Lebanon on June 17 against regressive taxes by the government.
The Lebanon Daily Star reported that the General Labor Confederation (GLC) said on Thursday that it will go ahead with the stoppage next month.
Following a meeting at the GLC headquarters in Beirut, the trade union said the government has not yet come up with a plan to create more jobs, achieve growth and ease the current taxes that are posing a big burden on low income families.
“It is not enough to abandon [a proposal for] raising the Value Added Tax to 12 or 15 percent. We want the government to lower the tax on each 20 liters of gasoline,” the GLC said in a statement. It added that the gasoline tax consumes 8 percent of the income of an average family each month.
The GLC also mentioned the unfair tax system in Lebanon which does not discriminate between poor and rich.
It also criticized the tax on the cellular calls, adding that the government collects 65 percent from each mobile call, one of the highest rates in the world.
The GLC rejected any form of privatization in the country, claiming that some ministers are trying to promote the idea of selling state-owned assets under misleading plans.
The trade union also accused the Lebanese state of deliberately destroying Electricite du Liban (EDL) in order to allow the owners of private generators to rip off citizens.
“We call on all citizens to join us in the general strike in June 17 in order to send a strong message to the government,” the GLC said.
Comments