The President of the General Labor Union, Dr. Beshara Al-Asmar, issued a statement in which he explained that “once again the General Labor Union proves that it is the first defender, the loudest voice and the beating heart of the union movement.” He added that with the Prime Minister, President Nawaf Salam, announcing his intention to impose an increase in the value-added tax by 1%, and with His Excellency the Minister of Finance, Yassin Jaber, confirming that the government will not adopt this increase or defend it in the House of Representatives, this confirms that what happened yesterday represents a victory for all segments of the Lebanese people, as the burden on workers, the poor, and the military has been reduced.
Dr. Al-Asmar also stated: “The Prime Minister’s announcement that he is open to reconsidering the fees imposed on gasoline as soon as other funding sources are secured for increases in the public sector, the military, and retirees confirms that the General Labor Union has succeeded in establishing the beginning of a solution to some aspects of the increases in fees and taxes that were issued by the Council of Ministers together.”
At the conclusion of the statement, Al-Asmar stressed that the General Labor Union “will remain with our workers and our people in all its categories to achieve a minimum level of decent living in these difficult circumstances that the country is going through.”
