Nahhas Determined Not to Approve Transportation Allowance, Says No Dispute with Aoun
Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas reiterated on Saturday that he will not approve the transportation allowance taken by the cabinet because it’s "illegal."
Free Patriotic Movement Leader MP Michek “Aoun’s position is similar to mine” Nahhas told OTV after meeting with Aoun in Rabiyeh.
Sources close to the minister revealed to An Nahar newspaper published on Saturday that the government’s wage hike decree has “burdened” Nahhas over cabinet’s refusal to adopt his proposals on the wage hike, added the daily.
Meanwhile, acting Labor Minister Nicolas Fattoush told the daily: “The minister can state whatever he wants during a cabinet, but he must commit to its decisions or resign.”
“Saying that a minister does not want to sign a government decree is a joke,” he added.
The head of the Shura Council Judge Shukri Sader told An Nahar that the government’s decision on the wage hike is “sound”.
Commenting on Nahhas’ refusal to recognize the transportation allowance, he remarked: “This does not fall under the council’s jurisdiction.”
Nahhas signed on Friday the government’s decision on a wage hike decree, but he did not sign the bill on the transportation allowance because he has deemed it “illegal.”
He is instead preparing a draft law concerning the transportation and education allowances to refer it to the parliament for endorsement, according to newspapers published on Friday.
The decree is expected to be effective as of February 1, 2012, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.
A ministerial source told al-Liwaa Friday that the cabinet adopted the Baabda Palace deal that was modified by the minister in order to “legalize” it.
The Baabda agreement was sponsored by Prime Minister Najib Miqati in December between the Economic Committees and the General Labor Confederation.
The plan sets the minimum wage at LL675,000, canceling a LL200,000 increase in wages given on January 1, 2010. The increase on brackets sets the raise on the first bracket up to LL400,000 to 100 percent , a sum that wouldn’t be less than LL375,000 while the increase on the second bracket – up to LL1.5 million- would include the first LL400,000 plus a 9 percent raise.
However, Nahhas’ reservations are over the transportation allowance, which he argues, should be included in the minimum wage for the Shura council will turn down any plan that puts the allowance outside the minimum salary because such a move contradicts the labor law.
But when the issue was put to vote on Wednesday at the cabinet session, his proposal won the support of 10 ministers while 19 voted against it.
Sources told al-Liwaa that Nahhas would not resign, but travel outside Lebanon thus avoiding the possibility of signing the allowance decree by referring the matter to Fattoush.
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