Call for an emergency meeting... and a threat of escalation

The head of the General Labor Union in Lebanon, Bechara Al-Asmar, in a statement, called for an emergency session of the union's executive council on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at ten o'clock in the morning at the General Labor Union building – Corniche al-Nahr, to take the necessary steps for escalation through sit-ins and strikes, in protest of the decree that significantly harms workers, employees, and all categories of the Lebanese people in various sectors, amid the current security conditions, recession, and slowdown of economic activity.

He said: "Law 38/2026 issued by the Parliament, which imposed fees on some products according to the quantity or quality of waste resulting from their manufacture or use, applying the principle of producer responsibility, had set the percentages in the attached Table No. 1 between 0.1% and 0.3%."

He added: "However, the Council of Ministers multiplied these percentages ten times, and amended some of its provisions under Decree No. 3214 published in the Official Gazette in Issue No. 26 dated 18/6/2026, which constitutes a heavy burden on citizens, especially since the table includes fuels and food items. The Council also did not take into account the consequences of these fees on consumption, amid the continued security deterioration, attacks, displacement, and the worsening economic and social conditions in various Lebanese regions."