Cabinet Reaches Solution to Wage Hike Crisis, to Meet Again Friday

The Cabinet on Thursday reached a solution to the wage hike crisis after “very positive” deliberations and another session will be held Friday to put the final touches, the information minister said.

“President Michel Aoun briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his visits to New York and France, as Prime Minister Saad Hariri demonstrated the stages that followed the approval of the new wage scale all the way to the Constitutional Council's ruling,” Information Minister Melhem Riachi told reporters after the session.

“It was decided to apply legal measures to address the issues of the wage scale and the taxes in a session that will be tomorrow at 10:00 am at the Grand Serail,” Riachi said.

“The atmosphere is very positive and tomorrow's session is aimed at drafting the laws,” he added.

In a tweet, Riachi later announced that the salaries of public sector employees will be paid this month according to the new wage scale and that Friday's session will “reach solutions that immunize rights and financial stability.”

Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani meanwhile confirmed that this month's salaries will be paid according to the new wage scale but announced that the wage hike “could be suspended” in the coming months “should no revenues be secured to fund it.”

The crisis had erupted after the Constitutional Council revoked a tax law aimed at funding the new wage scale following an appeal filed by ten MPs led by Sami Gemayel.

The ruling prompted the Cabinet to hold several emergency sessions in a bid to find alternative funding sources, amid protests and an open-ended strike that was declared by private and public school teachers and public employees.

The teachers and employees are trying to press the government not to delay the payment of the long-awaited wage hike, fearing that the contentious debate over the funding sources could protract indefinitely.

On Thursday, the Syndical Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and civil servants, escalated its measures and staged sit-ins in parallel with the Cabinet meeting.

The SCC was up in arms and warned of escalating measures shall the implementation of the wage scale be halted.

“No wage scale means no work. The strike is open-ended and we will escalate measures,” they said.

Hasbani told reporters before the session: “Our role is to provide and fund the wage scale. It is our duty to find the best and quickest way to do so, and we should approve the state budget.”

On the issue of the suspension of Article 87 of the Constitution, Hasbani explained that it falls under the president's jurisdiction.

For his part, Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos stressed: “The President has the right to request the suspension of Article 87 but the parliament has to approve this.”

“Pushing for the implementation of the wage scale without securing the funds is harmful for the country,” he warned.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil stressed the need to approve the country's state budget as a prelude to solve other problems, pointing out to some violations committed in the accounting records.

“If there is an irregularity in the accounting records, it is not more important than the failure to approve the budget,” he said.