BEIRUT: Thursday's general strike called by the Union Coordination Committee has slowed down, but not shuttered, government operations across Lebanon.
Response to the strike call was weak in the north Lebanon region of Akkar, with less than 50 percent of municipalities and government offices closed, political sources told The Daily Star.
In Tripoli, the capital of the north and the country’s second largest city, the strike also failed to completely shut down government buildings, as only an estimated 70 percent of public offices and institutions were closed.
In Tripoli municipality, over 30 percent of the employees reported to work, the sources said.
The strike, however, was fully observed by the public sector in south Lebanon, where all government offices remain closed for the day.
In many cases, employees showed up at their workplace but refused to work.
Banks and private businesses operated normally, although the call was addressed to both private and public sectors.
The UCC called for a general strike Thursday, as part of its ongoing battle for a 121 percent pay increase, in line with that given to judges several years ago. Civil servants and public teachers have held a number of strikes and protests pressing for the new salary scale, which has been held up by divisions in Parliament over how to finance its estimated $1.2 billion cost.
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