In a virulent communiqué, the Gathering of Civil Servants in the Public Administration issued an ultimatum to the authorities: grant an immediate meeting to start negotiations on their demands, or risk launching “unprecedented” protest actions, including a general strike and possible recourse to administrative disobedience.
The Gathering denounces a “policy of humiliation and contempt” pursued by the Lebanese political class towards civil servants, asserting that “the silence and indifference of those in charge in the face of the repeated demands of employees amount to organized contempt and sabotage of the public administration.”
Clear and Urgent Demands
The Gathering's main demands include:
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The immediate opening of recruitment via the Civil Service Council, in order to counter the hemorrhaging of skills and curb the flight of young graduates;
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The readjustment of salaries and the introduction of a new salary scale linked to inflation;
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The merging of bonuses and increases into the basic salary, with the elimination of so-called “perseverance” conditions;
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Extension of the retirement age to 68, to enable pensioners to benefit from the increases granted;
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The return to the traditional administrative timetable, Monday to Thursday from 8 AM to 2 PM and Friday from 8 AM to 11 AM.
The Gathering also rejected the “financial sheet” under discussion by the government, described as “an attempt to progressively dismantle public administration” by spreading entitlements over five years, while many employees will have retired by then.
A Week-Long Strike Announced
Failing a rapid response from the government, a nationwide strike has been announced for Monday, July 14, to Friday, July 18, 2025, in all public administrations and institutions. The Rassemblement is also calling on all public employees to be ready for stronger action, including open administrative disobedience, if their calls for dialogue remain ignored.
“This is no longer a question of categorical demands, but of the survival of public administration and its service to citizens,” the communiqué concludes.
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