Wage Hike Dispute Ongoing as Miqati Exerts Efforts to Avert GLC's Strike

The cabinet is set to tackle the wage hike during its session on Wednesday amid intense contacts between the premiership, the economic committees and the General Labor Confederation to seek a solution for the controversial issue and avert a strike scheduled to be held next week.

“The wages issue will top the cabinet’s agenda on Wednesday,” Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s sources told As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.

Ministerial sources informed the daily that the cabinet will issue the decree in harmony with the Shura Council’s decision on the wage hike proposal suggested by Miqati and approved by majority of the cabinet that deprived Minister Labor Charbel Nahhas’ suggestion from getting any support.

The Shura Council approved on Friday the cabinet’s decision on the wage hike, by adding some modifications to it but without interfering with the amount of increase on brackets.

The cabinet’s wage proposal made by Miqati states that the minimum wage should be increased by LL100,000 to LL600,000, salaries under LL1 million by 30% up to a LL200,000 increase, and salaries above LL1 million by a 20% increase up to LL275,000.

Al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Tuesday that a meeting was held between Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish and the aide of the Hizbullah chief, Hussein Khalil, to coordinate stances on the cabinet’s wage hike expected decree and the budget of the state.

Sources told the newspaper that the conferees agreed on adopting the cabinet’s version with some amendments in an attempt to avert the strike called for by the GLC on December 27 to protest the cabinet wage hike.

The government will hold another session at the Grand Serail on the same day of the planned strike that if held will hit the country’s tourism sector during the holidays.

According to As Safir, the GLC leadership is determined to go ahead with its strike if the cabinet doesn’t respond to its demands on the issue, especially after the Shura Council suggested that the cabinet should modify its decision.

However, the dispute between the economic committees and the GLC is ongoing.

An Nahar newspaper said on Tuesday that the economic committees suggested that the minimum wage should be LL625,000 for new employees with LL675,000 for old employees, while the GLC suggested LL650,000 for new employees and LL700,000 for old ones.

As for wages above LL1 million, the economic committees suggested an increase that doesn’t go beyond LL275,000 while the GLC suggested LL300,000.