Socio Café Hanna Gharib and Ghassan Slaiby
29 October 2013
Hanna Gharib
Despite of the schism between the teachers, the syndicate was unified.
Inside the Private School’s Syndicate , there were two factions
Before the war, they were in schism, then they were re-unified again
He speaks with a very anti-capitalist tone , of course.
The purchasing power is low.
The Rabitats have been the most active since the 90s, fighting for teachers’ rights, pays, salaries…
Teachers are witnessing some sort of slavery.
Brain Drain
This is how the government works today.
The General Coordination Committee 10 May 2006 Movement among the most effective of
movements.
No protection for labour. We are not racists but there is the Syrian issue, it is very important,
There should be a kind of justice and equality.
The Salary Scale Issue
The core of the movement is that it showed how much the GCC is able to move and demand its
rights.
They tried to put pressure on the committees and they have failed.
When their sectarian leaders said stop, they continued.
The important thing about the movement is that it was able to stand against corruption and to fight
for its rights.
Their mere rights are dreams that will only be actualized through their affiliations with their sectarian
leaders.
This movement was putting an end to this.
They are stealing the voices of people just like they’re stealing their money.
The Syndicate Movement
It is now time for the movement to destroy the sectarianism in the country and to demand its
political rights.
There is primary title for the syndicate movement, they ought to move, and they ought to demand
their rights and be unified.
The GCC has to hold itself responsible to declare a general protest (idrab 3am) in the country.
It is unacceptable for this country to sink itself into the abyss of sectarianism.
Ghassan Slaiby
Gharib talked a lot about the movement.
He asked a question about how people move themselves from the steady state of having their voices
stolen from them to move to the streets
What has the GCC taught us, what have we discovered
3 truths
1.There is a capability in the country for a syndicalist movement to move and demand its rights and
to complete a successful movement under one unified umbrella
2. There is no great difference between the demands and interests of the different factions in the
movement (blocs, 14 and 8). They are both facing the same issues and they are both entitled to the
same political rights which they now demand for in a joined way.
we need a neutral, alternative movement which supports the unification
3. there is no way that the gcc will acutalize its goals without finding an alternate economic system in
the country. (wasting money, maritime property, ports…)
it is not enough to have such gatherings in cafés for example.
What has helped the movement?
Leftist leadership.
Democratic dynamics involved in the movement which never failed to disappoint its people
the way they have moved and their persistency after this grand movement.
Protest (IDRAB) Sit ins as a means of pressure . As well as strikes.
The hierarchy and organization of the GCC in general.
Arab Spring, the GCC was important in these protests then. In Egypt, they invented a new committee
and in Tunisia the Labor Movement has witnessed dynamics that went against the Labor movement
under Ben Ali. (Hanna Gharib joked and said I hope it becomes our turn soon).
Why is it successful in War.
Stop the war, and give the Lira what it deserves.
That’s why they were all unified under one umbrella, this concerns every faction in society.
Questions
The importance of the sociological and civilisation based principles.
Reform and principles of reform should come from within and not from Marx and not from the US
Leila Hmede (Teacher): Ignorance among workers and teachers as well as the Lebanese community
when it comes to their rights.
Is it important to raise awareness about this work?
Teachers rights achieved =Efficacité of their work and then also the community is better.
Discussion and Answers (Gharib)
Importance of the media and technology to promulgate protests and ignite strikes.
It is also important to raise awareness among students and their parents on their teachers’ rights and
issues. The whole community will be then involved in the political demands of the union which is
very similar to the demands that should be on the agenda of each worker and student alike. The
awareness is something we are still working on.
There is a problem, the leftovers of the 70s and 80s (4 more years for me for example), and the other
generation is the generation of the civil war. This generation is willing to follow the union’s path yet
it is still unable, it lacks experience and expertise.
New Labor Syndicates are being formed.
Slaiby reformulates Gharib’s discussion.