Bou Saab Says Servicemen Wages Won't be Cut as Govt. Vows 'Reforms'
Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab on Monday reassured that the salaries and other compensations of active and retired servicemen will not be touched, as the Cabinet held another budget session.
Bou Saab clarified that a 3% decrease will however affect their medical care compensations, a measure that "will affect all state employees."
Retired servicemen have staged several protests in recent days to warn against any cut to their salaries and on Monday they blocked the entrance of Banque du Liban on the vital Hamra Street.
The Cabinet meanwhile slashed social aid by 10 to 15% to associations without involving "serious associations that truly aid citizens such as the children cancer center, the red cross and Caritas," Information Minister Jamal al-Jarrah said.
He added that Cabinet will continue its discussions at noon Tuesday, reassuring that the country is headed for economic recommendations and reforms."
Lebanon has vowed to slash public spending to unlock $11 billion worth of aid pledged by international donors during an April 2018 conference in Paris.
Last month, Prime Minister Saad Hariri vowed to introduce "the most austere budget in Lebanon's history" to combat the country's bulging fiscal deficit, sparking fears among public sector employees that their salaries may be cut.
Lebanon is one of the world's most indebted countries, with public debt estimated at 141 percent of GDP in 2018, according to credit ratings agency Moody's.
Source: Naharnet
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