Wage Boost Expected to See Light amid Reported Consensus between Parties

Contacts are ongoing between Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Speaker Nabih Berri and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to resolve the controversial issue of the wage boost, An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday.

As Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas is waiting for the Shura Council’s verdict on his new proposed wage hike plan, sources told the daily that Miqati, Berri and Aoun were holding contacts aimed at reaching a political consensus over the issue.

The new proposal of Nahhas, who is loyal to Aoun, 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 sources said that an agreement could be reached between the three officials to adopt a previous deal made by the General Labor Confederation and the Economic Committees at Baabda palace last month.

The Economic Committees and the GLC had agreed to set the minimum wage at LL675,000 – a sum that excludes the transportation allowance.

A joint delegation from the Committees and the GLC held talks with Aoun on Monday at 10:00 am, as another meeting was held between Miqati and the delegation at the Grand Serail afterwards to discuss the matter.

Aoun said after meeting the delegation: “We discussed various issues related to the wage hike and the agreement between the GLC and the Economic Committee has been referred to the labor minister.”

For his part, Miqati stressed after the meeting with the delegation that “the wage boost issue will be kept away from political bickering and will be proposed to the cabinet at the appropriate time.”

The meeting between Miqati and the delegation stressed on the importance of abiding by the agreement that took place at the Baabda Palace.

The PM unveiled after the meeting that an economic-social conference will be held at the Grand Serail soon to tackle the details of the agreement in order to implement it.

An Nahar reported that if Aoun agreed to the deal reached between the two parties at Baabda, then the cabinet will tackle the issue on Tuesday.

Head of GLC Ghassan Ghosn told As Safir newspaper on Monday that the purpose behind meeting with Aoun is to “inform him about the accurate agreement made with the Economic Committees.”

However, he stressed that the GLC will urge Aoun to facilitate the process so that the cabinet could approve the deal “unless the government proposes a new plan which abides by the agreement and gets the Shura Council’s approval.”

Asked about the Syndical Coordination Committee’s rejection of the agreement reached by the GLC and the Economic Committees, Ghosn said: “It doesn’t represent all the employees in Lebanon, thus the deal doesn’t include it.”

For his part, the head of the Beirut Merchant Association Nicolas Shammas told al-Joumhouria newspaper on Monday that “the meeting at the Grand Serail aims at endorsing the consensual deal with the GLC.”

Asked about Nahhas’ new wage plan, he stressed that “it’s inadequate as long as there is an agreement that has the consent of both production parties.”

“Some employers and institutions started implementing the deal, but the cabinet’s approval gives it a legal status,” Shammas stated.