GLC Suspends Strike after Agreeing on Govt. Wage Hike
The General Labor Confederation announced on Friday that it has suspended the strike it was planning on holding on December 27.
The confederation made the decision after agreeing on the government’s wage hike, which adopted Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ proposals on the matter.
The government’s decision on Wednesday has sparked the Economic Committees’ condemnation, deeming the hike as “a major blow to the economy.”
The head of the committees Adnan Kassar said on Thursday: “We hope the Shura Council will reject the decision.”
He also hoped that the government would retract the decision as it is “a blow to the most important basis of stability in Lebanon.”
The new cabinet decision calls for raising the minimum wage to LL868,000 from the current LL500,000 – a sum that includes a LL236,000 transportation allowance.
Workers earning less than LL1.5 million receive an 18 percent increase while salaries between LL1.5 million and LL2.5 million receive an additional 10 percent on the second salary bracket. Wages above LL2.5 million will not earn an additional increase.
The raise is effective as of December 1, 2011.
The GLC and the Economic Committees, which had been bickering on Premier Najib Miqati’s proposal in the past week, made a last-minute deal ahead of Thursday’s cabinet session by agreeing on a LL675,000 minimum wage.
Miqati’s original proposal that was approved by the cabinet on December 7 called for increasing the minimum wage to LL600,000.
The PM had made his suggestion despite a decree proposed by Nahhas, who on Thursday retaliated by pushing ahead his proposal.
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