Syndical Coordination Committee Slams Exclusion from Wage Talks
The Syndical Coordination Committee on Sunday threatened to stage fresh strikes and demonstrations, stressing that it represents “fifty percent of the regular labor force” and that “no one can marginalize” it in the ongoing debate over wage rectification.
“The Syndical Coordination Committee is an essential component of the price index committee and it is a major party in social dialogue and negotiation over the issue of salaries,” the SCC said in a statement following a meeting at the headquarters of the league of public secondary schools teachers.
The SCC “represents a large segment of employees and teachers in the public and private sectors, and therefore it is directly concerned with the issue,” the statement said.
“The deliberate and recurrent exclusion of the SCC from dialogue makes the fate of the so-called consensual agreement -- (between the General Labor Confederation and the Economic Committees) -- similar to the previous agreements, being the product of an illegitimate dialogue,” the SCC added, slamming the talks as “non-representative and undemocratic.”
It said the aim of such “deliberate exclusion” was to “infringe on the rights of workers, employees and teachers,” vowing to “never allow that, no matter the sacrifices.”
The SCC stressed that transportation allowance must be added to the basic salary, calling for a “dialogue that engages all parties without exception, in order to rectify wages in a manner that preserves the rights of workers and employees.”
Premier Najib Miqati is scheduled to bring the Economic Committees and the General Labor Confederation together on Monday after Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas proposed a new wage hike.
The Shura Council is now studying the wage boost proposal amid hopes that it would issue its decision ahead of a cabinet session that will be held under President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace on Tuesday.
Although the salary increase is not on its agenda, ministerial sources did not rule out its discussion by the government if the Committees and the GLC reach a deal and the Shura Council gives its green light.
The Shura Council turned down earlier in the week Nahhas’ wage hike plan that the cabinet had approved in December.
The proposal called for raising the minimum wage to LL868,000 – a sum that includes a LL236,000 transportation allowance. It also gave an 18 percent raise for employees earning less than LL1.5 million and a 10 percent increase for salaries between LL1.5 million and LL2.5 million.
But the new proposal reportedly suggests a 100 percent increase on the first bracket under LL1 million and 25 percent on the second bracket above LL1 million. But LL200,000 will be deducted from the wages due to the raise approved by the government in 2008, which indicates that the new minimum wage will be LL800,000.
The Economic Committees and the GLC had agreed to set the minimum wage at LL675,000 – a sum that excludes the transportation allowance. But the cabinet approved Nahhas’ proposal of LL868,000, which was later rejected by the Shura Council, forcing the minister to make a new proposal.
Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas told LBC TV on Sunday that the cabinet is reaching a final solution to the wage hike.
He stressed that Monday’s meeting between the Committees and the GLC is aimed at consolidating their agreement.
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