Lebanon has been hit with Internet outages across the nation as employees at the state-owned telecom company Ogero have gone on strike.
The workers have gone on strike, demanding higher wages as the country battles a worsening economic crisis.
The Lebanese economy has been suffering massively in recent years, with its currency losing 90% of its value against the dollar.
However, state institutions like Ogero haven’t adjusted salaries to match the inflation, with workers promising more strike actions if proposals aren’t met.
It’s worth mentioning that the initial ignition of the Lebanese Revolution in October 2019 was a $6 tax on Whatsapp, leading to massive marches and riots across the country.
Earlier this year, the Lebanese government increased the prices of its telecom and Internet tariffs, with prices for telecom services quintupling and Internet prices doubling.
The government said these price hikes were critical for the survival of its telecom industry, but till now no wages have been raised according to the price hikes.
Discussions between Ogero employees and the Ministry of Telecom are ongoing with no intention to cancel the strike.
The telecom minister, Jhonny Al-Qurm, said earlier that “hopefully businesses will not suffer as a consequence during this negotiation period.”
However, many businesses in Lebanon totally rely on Ogero’s high-speed internet to conduct their work, and internet outages will be a severe threat to their workflow.
Related: Ogero Employees Strike Threatens Internet Cut-Off In Several Regions In Lebanon.
