UCC Protesters rally near Baabda Palace

Thousands of civil servants and public school teachers reiterated their demands that the government refer a draft wage scale to Parliament during a march toward the Presidential Palace in Baabda, where Cabinet held a meeting.
Thousands gathered at the junction leading to Baabda Palace, in another day of a weeks-long, open ended strike called by the Union Coordination Committee, a coalition of teachers and public sector employees, on Feb. 19.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati argues that more time is needed to study ways of financing the wage hike.
President Michel Sleiman, who headed the Cabinet session, has promised that Cabinet will refer the salary scale to Parliament during the first Cabinet session after March 21, a move that prompted private school teachers Monday to suspend their participation in the strike.
“We would be grateful to you [President Michel Sleiman] if you would refer the pay scale to Parliament,” Gharib said outside the ministry in the capital.