The Social Committee of the National Democratic Rally in Lebanon believes that so far no comprehensive and serious action plan has been presented to address the effects of the collapse that Lebanon is witnessing. The committee indicated that the proposals related to the depositors’ file carry some positive aspects regarding small depositors, but they include serious negative aspects related to guarantor funds and compensation.
The committee also explained that these negative aspects are embodied in attempts to blackmail banks, and their attempt to use state assets and public funds to finance their obligations, in addition to the trend towards issuing amnesty for committed financial crimes, which is considered a violation of the principle of accountability.
The committee believes that the economic and social crisis is clearly evident in the continuing suffering of the working and middle classes from the effects of a decline in their real income due to inflation and the collapse of the value of the currency, in addition to the insufficient adjustment of wages despite the presence of budget surpluses, which has led to the deterioration of the purchasing power of these groups.
The committee also drew attention to the high rates of disguised unemployment and the deterioration of the level of public services, in addition to the deterioration of infrastructure and public facilities, stressing that these facts deepen and exacerbate the social crisis.
The committee called for intensifying union movements in the public and private sectors and expanding their scope in the street to include the broadest poor and marginalized segments of society, in order to confront the repercussions of the economic, financial and social collapse and defend their rights, especially with regard to reconstruction, the return of the displaced, restoring the rights of small depositors, and the funds of the guarantee funds for workers and the liberal professions, in addition to adjusting salaries and wages, and improving public services in the areas of “electricity and water, health coverage, quality education, and the right to housing and transportation.”
