Due to the strike announced by Baalbek’s municipality employees on Tuesday, June 19th, a garbage crisis erupted in the city as cleaning services stopped.
The accumulation of garbage in public and private places led to the spread of flies and rodents, threatening the health of the locals.
Municipality employees supported the cleaners in their decision, pointing out that a cleaner only makes LBP 875,000 per month, which is equivalent to around $30.
The municipality employees argued that one employee’s salary is not enough to feed a family of four, let alone provide medicine or other services.
In light of this strike, the mayor of Baalbek, Fouad Blouk, confirmed the eligibility of their demands, asking the Lebanese government to secure financial resources for the municipality in order to pay the workers decent wages.
He added that failure to do so would lead to much larger consequences on the health of citizens due to the garbage crisis.
