Protecting Lebanon’s workers is a priority

Workers face a myriad of problems in Lebanon. Over the past few years, different labor groups in the country have protested over a variety of issues, one of which did not receive much attention from the unions, media and policy makers: occupational health and safety. Two weeks ago, a 25-year old mechanic was killed in Sidon, when the car he was inspecting fell on him due to a faulty lift. Fellow mechanics in Sidon complained that not enough is being done to protect them. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident; in the past four years a construction worker falls after falling off a crane, two workers were killed within three days in one site, a worker was killed on a construction site, and one worker killed and three injure when a fall collapsed over  them.

It is common to see workers in construction sites and at car mechanics wearing no or little safety gear. Lack of a safe working environment is also present in factories as well as non-industrial jobs. Some domestic workers also risk their lives on a daily basis. Pictures of domestic workers cleaning windows in high buildings with no protective gear in Lebanon can be found all over the internet (like the one below).

Source: Al Manar

On the Red Sea-Dead Sea Deal

Shrinking of the Dead Sea Source: meddead.org/

Jordan and Israel recently signed an agreement on a World Bank sponsored desalination plant in the Gulf of Aqaba and a pipeline linking the Red Sea with the Dead Sea. The project aims to provide freshwater resources to the water scarce countries and at the same time act as a lifeline to the shrinking Dead Sea as a result of exploitation of the Jordan River that feeds into it. This project will try to counter this water loss by transferring over 300 million cubes of water, in addition to the brine produced by desalination, from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.