The last dispatch posted on the trilingual site of the National Information Agency (ANI) dates from Friday, July 22, in the early morning: written in Arabic, it announces the strike of journalists from this official body attached to the Ministry of Information. , whose news feeds the Lebanese media. Its employees have joined the walkout movement underway within the public administration since mid-June, which raises the specter of a total paralysis of the state. The dysfunctions have worsened since the start of the economic crisis in 2019.
For the strikers, it is no longer possible to continue with wages – in Lebanese pounds – remaining unchanged despite hyperinflation and the loss of value of the national currency. Transport allowances, revised upwards, have not been paid since the spring, which aggravates the frustration. “The public sector is one of the main victims of the crisis. For many employees, the decline in purchasing power is such that coming to work no longer makes sense, even less with the price of gasoline.notes Sami Zoughaib, economist at the Lebanese think tank The Policy Initiative.
In the administrations, everything is slowing down: with the strike, the wait is lengthened to obtain an identity card or a certified university diploma. Efficiency had already plunged before: in ministries, for lack of electricity, computers are shut down for several hours a day. In a report on the impact of the crisis on the public sector in 2020-2021, the Basil Fuleihan Institute of Finance (IOF), an official body, points to service interruptions (road maintenance, water and electricity supply… ) and alert on the risk of a growing collapse.
The sling could get worse
“With the strike, absenteeism worsened. We operate with 5% or 10% of the “full-time” workforce”, said a health ministry official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak with the press. Face-to-face “flexibility”, induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, has been maintained in various administrations to deal with the difficulties of civil servants. “Working from home is a nightmare, with power cuts, internet cuts. No costs are borne by the State »said a striker who requested anonymity.
According to the official from the Ministry of Health, who did not join the walkout, urgent services, such as hospital admissions, continue to be managed on a daily basis. But the sling could get worse: civil servants were paid late for the month of June, and they could not receive their July salary if the department in charge of payroll at the Ministry of Finance continues its strike – negotiations are in progress. Classes. This would have an impact on the security forces (army, police), which have so far not joined the movement.
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