Beirut was almost a "ghost city" Thursday as labor trade unions staged a day-long strike that shuttered schools, closed businesses, disrupted airline flights and brought taxicab traffic to a standstill, Naharnet website reported.
The strike was called by the General Workers Confederation to protest the failure of the government to harness mounting price of gasoline. Various associations of school teachers abided by the strike to protest rising costs of living.
Banks observed a one-hour work stoppage from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. while ground services stopped for three hours at Beirut airport in solidarity with the GWC. That led to delays in incoming and outgoing flights.
An Nahar newspaper called the strike the biggest in Lebanon in many years with 500,000 people across the country estimated to participate. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
