Shuqair Calls for Talks Between SCC and Economic Committees
Director of the Chamber of Commerce for Mount Lebanon and Beirut Mohammed Shuqair called for round table talks between the Syndicate Coordination Committee and the Economic Committees to study the problematic wage scale issue in light of the escalatory measures taken by the SCC, As Safir daily said Tuesday.
“I call upon the SCC to hold talks with the Economic Committees and form a joint commission to study the wage scale from various aspects,” Shuqair told the daily.
“We are all in the same boat. We have concerns that approving the scale as suggested will lead Lebanon to a situation similar to that in Greece, and that is a disaster,” he added.
Assuring that the Economic Committees have nothing against the wage scale, Shuqair said: “We are not against the wage scale or the employees. But we must know the costs. It's our right to know how it is funded. We must sit together and study the numbers well .”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Miqati reiterated his adherence to monetary and fiscal stability, refusing to yield to the SCC's demands, the daily said.
“We call for dialogue as a means to approach all issues,” said Miqati.
He added: “The government is committed to the wage scale, but it is also committed to stability. Pressuring the government to approve the wage scale at any cost will not happen. Everyone should know that times are tough and we cannot afford any adventures.”
Showing no resilience on the government’s part in that regard, unnamed governmental sources told An Nahar daily that the SCC's escalatory measures will not change the course of government action regarding the series. The government will not work under the pressure of threats, they added.
The government is evaluating the numbers to decide, in accordance with the interest of the country, the Treasury and the employees, the sources added.
They pointed out that Minister of Finance Mohammad Safadi is currently preparing the draft budget for the current year to see how much the wage scale will cost the cabinet.
On the seventh day of its open-ended strike on Monday, the Syndicate Coordination Committee held a protest near the Central Bank in Beirut's Hamra area to press the cabinet to refer the new wage scale to the parliament.
The SCC will stage Tuesday's sit-in near the Ministry of Economy in Downtown Beirut.
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