Lebanon: Tax Hikes Spark Employee Protests, Fuel Queues Resurge

Cars lined up in front of a gas station in Beirut on Wednesday (Markazia)
Cars lined up in front of a gas station in Beirut on Wednesday (Markazia)
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Lebanon: Tax Hikes Spark Employee Protests, Fuel Queues Resurge

Cars lined up in front of a gas station in Beirut on Wednesday (Markazia)
Cars lined up in front of a gas station in Beirut on Wednesday (Markazia)

The state budget, recently approved by the Lebanese parliament, has sparked protests among government workers, leading to an open-ended strike.

Fuel stations now face renewed queues as oil-importing companies reject an additional tax, raising concerns about potential closures and fuel shortages.

Around 12,000 public administration employees have begun a warning strike lasting until February 9, with the possibility of extending it if their concerns aren’t addressed.

They oppose the budget for imposing high fees and taxes without adequate salary and allowance increases.

Judicial assistants, numbering between 800 and 1,000, will join the strike on Thursday, potentially disrupting Lebanese courts.

Lebanon’s 2024 budget doesn't provide enough for employees to meet their basic needs.

The budget includes a threefold increase in the base salary, along with a previous raise of seven salaries in the past year.

This means that 80% of employees, with monthly salaries ranging from one to two million Lebanese pounds (about 11 to 22 dollars), will only get around $200 monthly after factoring in the tenfold increase.

This amount is insufficient, according to Nawal Nasr, head of the Public Administration Employee’s Union, who is trying to communicate with the Lebanese government for a solution.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Nasr criticized the budget, stating that the proposed allowances are not enough for water, electricity, transportation, and dealing with the rising prices of essential goods due to new fees and taxes.

Nasr highlighted the unfairness of salary multipliers, as employees in public institutions receive varying salaries.

She pointed out the absence of a standardized salary scale, leading to salary differences among employees.

The value of salaries in Lebanon has declined due to the sharp depreciation of the exchange rate from 1,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar in 2019 to around 90,000 pounds to the dollar.

The government has not increased the base salary but provided incentives in the form of salary assistance to help employees cope.

While some allocations were increased for certain sectors, Nasr criticized the situation as “salary chaos” and a “dismantling of the public sector,” which is suffering from an alarming vacancy rate of up to 80%.

The Union is urging salary corrections to restore pre-crisis levels, as salaries have lost 92% of their value compared to 2018.

This adjustment aims to ensure a minimum living standard and compensate for the devaluation of end-of-service benefits that currently hold little value.



Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
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Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)

Senior Houthi leaders have disappeared from public life in Sanaa, gripped by fear of US airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump, now entering their third week, sources in Yemen said.

The first-tier leadership of the Iran-aligned group is believed to have fled the capital, which remains under Houthi control, seeking shelter in remote areas of Saada and Amran provinces.

According to informed sources, the group’s leaders have severed traditional communication channels and several have either gone into hiding or relocated to undisclosed locations as a precaution against possible targeted strikes.

Since the launch of US airstrikes on March 15, senior and mid-level Houthi leaders have vanished from public view and social media platforms, Yemeni sources say, as fear of targeted attacks continues to grow within the group’s ranks.

Informed sources confirmed there has been no trace of the group’s top two tiers of leadership - neither in the institutions under Houthi control in Sanaa, nor on the streets and neighborhoods they once frequented in luxury vehicles.

Even the sectarian events that Houthi leaders were known to regularly attend have reportedly gone on without their visible presence.

The Houthi group has remained tight-lipped about the extent of its human and military losses following US airstrikes ordered by Trump.

However, sources say several leaders not belonging to the ruling family of Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi are still believed to be in Sanaa.

Many of these figures have adopted strict security measures to avoid detection, including travelling in vehicles with tinted windows and covering their faces with cloaks when leaving temporary residences, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The precautions reflect growing fears of betrayal or being targeted by further strikes.

A source in Sanaa revealed that third-tier Houthi officials—mostly tribal figures and field supervisors—were instructed to flee to the northern provinces of Saada, Amran and other areas as US air raids intensified.

According to the source, mid-level Houthi officials have lost all direct contact with the group’s senior leadership after the latter switched locations and shut down their communication lines.