Lebanon braces for general strike

INDUSTRIAL ACTION: Workers in Lebanon plan to strike on Wednesday over demands for more money. (AFP)

Lebanese workers plan a general strike on Wednesday to demand more money despite the government having raised the minimum wage, amid fears that protests could escalate into clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian camps.

The government announced on Tuesday that it was raising the minimum wage across the board from $200 to $330 a month. In addition, public sector workers will receive a bonus of $130 a month, with state retires getting a $95 hike to their pensions.

"The government's decisions are insufficient and ambiguous," General Confederation of Labour Unions chief Ghassan Ghosn told newswire AFP, blasting the fact that the increases do not apply to private sector employees now earning more than the the new minimum wage.

The CGTL is demanding that the minimum wage, unchanged since 1996, be tripled to $600 but the government has balked at that, and Finance Minister Jihad Azour has said that could lead to rampant inflation.

Wednesday's strike action comes amid a backdrop of mounting tensions between the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition, which are locked in a long-running standoff that has left the country without a president since November.

There were fears that the labour protests could escalate into street clashes between supporters of the rival political parties, and the army was set to deploy heavily across the capital and other major cities to ensure security.

Although banks and businesses are to open as usual, they were expected to provide a minimum service because of the strike. Schools will also open.

The standoff between the ruling block and the opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran, dates back to November 2006 when the opposition pulled out of the cabinet over demands for greater representation in government.

The crisis is the worst since the end of the country's 15-year civil war in 1990 and is seen as an extension of the confrontation pitting the US and its Arab allies against Syria and Iran.

Tensions mounted on Tuesday after the government announced it was launching a judicial probe into a telecommunication network that Hezbollah has set up across the country with the alleged help of Iran.

The cabinet also decided to dismiss the head of airport security amid allegations he was aware that Hezbollah had set up surveillance cameras overlooking an airport runway.

Nabil Nikola, an opposition deputy, said the government's decisions were tantamount to "a declaration of war that could lead to civil strife".

Meanwhile, leading Christian opposition figure Michel Aoun has called on workers to turn out in force on Wednesday to "topple the government of Fuad Siniora".

The CGTL itself is divided between those close to the opposition and those who favour dialogue with the government, and Ghosn has called for the protests to be peaceful and for the army and security forces to escort the demonstrators.

Central bank Governor Riad Salameh said last week that the inflation rate had risen by 10% year-on-year in March, due to a rise in oil prices and food prices and the weakening of the dolla

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