SCC Vows 'Severe' Accountability for Anyone Rejecting New Wage Scale
The Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, on Monday pledged a “severe” response against political parties that are blocking the approval of the new wage scale in parliament, reiterating the call for a general strike Wednesday and threatening to boycott official school exams.
“Some school owners have been raising fees since three years under the pretext of the new wage scale while the scale has not been yet approved,” Nehme Mahfoud, the head of the private school teachers union, said during a press conference.
“You do not want competent employees in state institutions and you want to eliminate such employees from the field of teaching,” Mahfoud added, addressing state officials and political parties.
Lashing out at some political forces over their alleged obstruction of the new wage scale, Mahfoud said: “Why don't some parties dare to declare a clear stance and announce that they are against the new wage scale? We have rights and we will hold everyone accountable and our response will be severe.”
Speaking in the name of the SCC, Mahfoud called for staging a general and comprehensive strike at all state institutes and schools on Wednesday and for carrying out a “massive, central sit-in” outside parliament at 11:00 AM.
“We must regain what is ours and we will regain it. We urge Speaker (Nabih) Berri -- especially after we discussed the figures with Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil -- to fulfill our ambitions and return to the joint (parliamentary) committees in order to refer the new wage scale to parliament,” he added.
“We call on general assemblies to convene at all ministries and schools to discuss staging open-ended strikes and boycotting official exams,” Mahfoud urged.
Responding to a reporter's question about the impact of approving the new wage scale on the economy, Mahfoud said: “We won't give up our rights and we're not with the VAT taxes or the taxes that target low-income people.”
“People support the SCC because it has rights and the state has been offering it lies since two and a half years,” he underlined.
“Let no one try to put us in a confrontation with the parents of the students. We have rights and we won't accept anything less than our rights. Those standing against the new wage scale will face a severe response from the protesters of the SCC," Mahfoud pledged.
He also accused the Economic Committees of "exerting pressures inside several political parties," saying "that was obvious on Friday."
On Saturday, the SCC accused officials of yielding to pressure from the Economic Committees when it failed to refer the wage scale to parliament.
It said the strike on Wednesday will include all public institutions and public and private schools.
The SCC warned that it may hold an open-ended strike starting April 7 should the joint parliamentary committees fail to approve the wage scale.
Head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after Friday's meeting: “The atmosphere was positive and we finalized the report and started discussions over the legal clauses in the new wage scale.”
“Discussions over laws consisting of 200 articles cannot end in two hours,” he said, explaining the delay in referring the draft laws to parliament.
“We reached consensus over the principles of the new wage scale and some things are still pending such as the issue of administration, the six extraordinary levels and the issue of the military and the teachers,” he noted.
He revealed that the committees “improved the draft law that was referred by the previous cabinet because it did not secure fairness and equality among all sectors.”
Former Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet endorsed in 2012 a new salary scale for public employees ending a long dispute that had prompted the SCC to hold several sit-ins and strikes.
President Michel Suleiman signed the decree mid-June 2013 and it was referred to the joint parliamentary committees for further scrutiny.
The wage increase will be retroactive from July 1, 2012.
The state treasury will have more than $1.2 billion to cover as there are over 180,000 public sector employees including military personnel.
Y.R.
M.T.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/124566 |