The head of the General Labor Confederation Ghassan Ghosn announced on Tuesday that the nationwide strike will go ahead on Wednesday after it had initially been reported that an agreement had been reached over increasing minimum w

The head of the General Labor Confederation Ghassan Ghosn announced on Tuesday that the nationwide strike will go ahead on Wednesday after it had initially been reported that an agreement had been reached over increasing minimum wages.

He made the announcement after the failure of negotiations between the GLC and the government after he held talks with Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.

Ghosn said: “We will go ahead with the strike until the situation is rectified.”

“Double standards are being applied,” he added.

“We wanted the increase in minimum wage to be cumulative and we had received positive signs that our proposals would be accepted, but it turned out that the package proposal was incomplete,” he stressed.

Local media had reported that the General Labor Confederation had suspended its strike after reaching an agreement to raise minimum wage by LL200,000, as well as increase social services.

Ghosn had held talks on Tuesday with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace and Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh.

He said he rejects the proposal of Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas to increase wages by 20 percent.

Ghosn also slammed business leaders for refusing a wage boost of more than 16 percent.

Representatives of the private sector have warned the government that meeting the demands of the GLC could compel companies to lay off workers.

Former Minister Adnan Kassar, who is a prominent leader in the business sector, told As Safir that the private sector has no differences with the GLC. But he called for dialogue to reach an understanding between workers and employers on the adoption of a sound socio-economic policy.

Ghosn said Monday that Kassar called him for a joint meeting. But later he saw no interest on behalf of the former minister. “This means that the strike will be held on time,” An Nahar quoted the GLC chief as saying.

President Suleiman discussed the wage dispute earlier in the day with a delegation representing the business sector headed by Kassar.