Report: Shura Council Considers Cabinet Wage Hike Illegal
The Shura Council has described a cabinet decision on a wage hike as “illegal” after Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas proposed it to the government, knocking down a last-minute deal made between the General Labor Confederation and the Economic Committees, ministerial sources said.
In remarks to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Friday, the sources expected the Shura Council to refer the decision back to the cabinet.
The Council believes that Nahhas’ proposal is “illegal” and stresses that it does not have the authority to issue a stance on a suggestion made by the labor ministry against the deal made between the GLC and the Economic Committees, the sources said.
Their deal lied on setting the minimum wage at LL 675,000 without the transportation allowance. However, their agreement was dealt a blow when the cabinet approved Nahhas’ proposal of LL868,000 – a sum that includes a LL236,000 transportation allowance.
The government decision also says that workers earning less than LL1.5 million should receive an 18 percent increase while salaries between LL1.5 million and LL2.5 million should receive an additional 10 percent on the second salary bracket. Wages above LL2.5 million will not earn an additional raise.
The raise is effective as of December 1, 2011.
The Shura Council is expected to issue its verdict on the wage hike next week to allow the government to have its final say on it, informed sources told An Nahar daily.
Al-Hayat’s sources said that Nahhas has been informed about Shura’s expected decision. But they stressed that they were not aware of his reaction.
On Thursday, the Economic Committees hoped that the government would retract its wage boost decree and return to the agreement that was reached between them and the GLC.
The head of the Beirut Merchant Association Nicolas Shammas said after holding talks with Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail that his visit at the head of a delegation was aimed at renewing the commitment of the Committees to the agreement.
“We cannot return to negotiations over the wage hike because the deal over the matter has already been reached,” he stressed.
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