Wage Hike Dispute Spirals out of Control as Parties Cling to their Stances

The cabinet will meet on Monday with the wage hike issue on its agenda following the price index committee’s failure to reach consensus over the salary increase for Lebanon’s employees, according to newspapers published on Friday.

The price index committee in its second consecutive meetings on Thursday failed to resolve the dispute between the Labor Minister, the Economic Committees, the General Labor Confederation and the Syndicate Coordination Committee over the wage hike.

The committee is tasked with reviewing the cost of living data to determine whether the demand for higher minimum wage is valid.

After the clear division in stances between the parties involved, sources told As Safir newspaper on Friday that Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas will head to the cabinet with three plans to submit to vote: the first is the deal between the Economic Committees and the GLC that was sponsored by Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Baabda Palace in December.

The agreement sets the minimum wage at LL675,000 – a sum that excludes the transportation allowance.

The second plan is the new proposal by the GLC that demanded the minimum wage be raised to LL 1,250,000 with a %100 increase on all brackets, with a retroactive effect as the transportation allowance would be raised from LL8,000 to 12,000 and school allowances from LL500,000 to LL1,000,000.

While the third plan is the Labor Minister’s own proposal, which was approved by the Shura Council on Wednesday, on condition of introducing amendments to it.

The proposal of Nahhas, who is loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel 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.

However, the Labor Minister argues that the Shura Council will turn down the deal between the GLC and the Economic Committees if it was referred to it, stressing that it is “illegal.”

The Syndicate Coordination Committee supports Nahhas’ wage plan and rejects the deal made at the Baabda Palace.

The dispute between the involved parties mainly focuses on whether the new wage hike would include the transportation allowance.

Head of GLC Ghassan Ghosn told As Safir newspaper: “We are seeking to provide workers with their rights.”

He urged the cabinet to take the appropriate decision.

According to An Nahar published on Friday, Miqati and Speaker Nabih Berri agreed to settle the wage hike dispute at the cabinet.