Report: Temporary Cash Advance among Proposals to Resolve Wage Scale Dispute

A project to grant military officials, public sector employees, and teachers a temporary cash advance as one proposal to resolve the dispute over the new wage scale is being studied, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

Informed sources told the daily that the advance will be part of a 20 to 25 percent raise for these employees.

This salary hike will be included in the proposed modifications of the wage scale draft-law.

The modifications also include refraining from altering the time scheduled of public sector and public school employees until a new president is elected.

This will pave the way for an “advanced level of security in Lebanon that will allow for serious discussions over the funding of the new wage scale that is being proposed today,” explained the sources.

The public sector employees and teachers are holding onto a 121 percent increase in their salaries. But a ministerial-parliamentary committee has proposed to reduce the total funding from LL2.8 trillion ($1.9 billion) to LL1.8 trillion ($1.2 billion).

It has also called for raising certain taxes, which are a source of controversy among parliamentary blocs.

The Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, has held several protests to pressure parliament to approve the wage scale draft-law without any amendments.

Several political and economic officials have warned that approving the draft-law will have a negative impact of Lebanon's economy.