Report: Aoun Not Convinced with Nahhas’ Wage Hike Proposal
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has reportedly backed a wage hike proposal made by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas to send a clear message to Premier Najib Miqati that he should take the opinion of the FPM and Change and Reform bloc before taking any decision.
“We are aware that the (cabinet’s wage boost) decision harms the economy and it is difficult to implement it … but we voted in favor of it with the sole aim of making the PM understand that we can break his decisions and that he should take our opinion into consideration,” ministerial sources quoted Aoun as saying in remarks published in pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Monday.
The cabinet approved last month the wage hike proposal made by Nahhas, who is loyal to Aoun. It calls for raising the minimum wage to LL868,000 from the current LL500,000 – a sum that includes a LL236,000 transportation allowance.
The decision also says that workers earning less than LL1.5 million should receive an 18 percent increase while salaries between LL1.5 million and LL2.5 million should receive an additional 10 percent on the second salary bracket. Wages above LL2.5 million will not earn an additional raise.
The raise is effective as of Dec. 1, 2011. But the Shura Council will have the final say on it.
Nahhas made this proposal to thwart an attempt by Miqati to implement another wage boost suggestion made by him.
The PM had agreed with the Economic Committees and the General Labor Confederation on fixing the minimum wage rate at LL675,000 without the transportation allowance. But despite the agreement between the three parties, Nahhas pushed his own proposal on the table of the cabinet which approved it after receiving the vote of 15 ministers.
Al-Hayat’s sources also said that Hizbullah ministers have admitted in conversations with other ministers that the labor minister’s suggestion cannot be implemented for economic reasons.
They also admitted that they voted in favor of it in the cabinet to please Aoun and consolidate their alliance with him after he complained that his ministers weren’t receiving enough backing in decisions taken by the government, the sources added.
over 12 years
@rudy: seriously, how did you connect M14 with this piece of news??????? so, in your brainwashed mind any, and i mean, any news that is not pro michele aoun is bound to be from M14 or M14 related? Is this the culture in your orange party of reform? seriously..... what a loser, ya haram!!
over 12 years
No responsible politician in the world would destroy his country's economy for the sake of marking a political point.
over 12 years
"No responsible politician in the world would destroy his country's economy for the sake of marking a political point."
that s exactly what aoun has been doing... blocking the parliament for a year preventing any reforms to be done, the hezb launching a war and so on...they are doing all they can to keep lebanon weak and thus hezbi arms strong!
over 12 years
This guy will eventually cripple the country if he is gonna be allowed to carry on..." Making the PM understand that we can break his decision"!!!!How childish is that?? This nutcase should be prevented from holding any responsible position....Put him away in a mental house for goodness sake..
over 12 years
the filthy zionist information war department is having a weekly task: waiting for general aoun to speak , in order to bash him somehow.
while some people in africa are starving, they get paid for stupidities.
over 12 years
everything you say and will say, I agree with
over 12 years
Jabalamel@ Honestly now you worry about people in africa! I would say stop voting for idiot people who do not even know what is means to look after people's interests and are not qualified to handle tax payers money. How about stop voting to thiefs stealing tax payers money as well. this goes to your fan club as well
what a loser in politics, it's a pity he is dragging a whole country with him.
he is the king of lost battles, first military, now politically: the elections 2009, the wage hikes, the electricity, the payment of the tribunal... his propaganda machine says something, and he ends up doing the opposite, destroying his credibility and the country's GDP in the process.