Nahhas Says New Salaries Scale 'Radically' Affects Economy
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Economy and Trade Minister Nicolas Nahhas said on Tuesday that the government’s approval of the new wages scale for public teachers isn’t “easy.”
“I understand the warnings issued by the Syndicate Coordination Committee but the matter isn’t easy as it will radically affect the economy of Lebanon,” Nahhas told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).
Head of the private school teachers association Nehme Mahfoud threatened earlier this month to resume a strike if the cabinet failed to implement an agreement on the new salaries scale for the public sector.
He criticized the government’s new wage scale proposal, saying it contains three major gaps.
“We are not seeking popularity, we can bear the strong political rhetoric but we will not shoulder the negative impact the matter will have on the economy if we took an unbalanced decision,” Nahhas pointed out.
Earlier this month, the Syndicate Coordination Committee resumed the correction of the official exams for grades 12 and 9 in light of the cabinet’s approval to issue the new salaries scale for the public sector by the end of August.
Media reports said that the cabinet’s new proposal wouldn’t grant the secondary school teachers 60 percent of their rights that the SCC and the cabinet agreed on.
The government argues that any new increase on wages would affect the state’s treasury, saying it is searching for new resources to finance the boost in salaries.
The cabinet agreed to increase the salaries of the teachers after a wage raise was granted to the private sector in January.
21 August 2012, 13:01
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Salaries will go up, prices will go even higher and we will all be back in the same sh*t. For goodness sake, let this total failure of a government resign, and let real technocrats take over. No M14 rubbish, no M8 rubbish either, just real people with real diplomas and experience return back this country on its feet, and the first thing is to encourage the return of free enterprise into Lebanon, and the end of the Mafia.
21 August 2012, 13:33
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Bunch of stupid demagogues, you should have thought of that before buying cheap popularity and imposing the raise on the private sector.
21 August 2012, 14:01
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I would like to suggest that our next minister of economic affairs and vice PM be Mr. Demianos Kattar. Let him also chose his ministers.
21 August 2012, 18:53
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Teachers are supposed to educate the next generation of Lebanese and give them the skills to compete in the global economy and to attract foreign investments. The raise in salaries will greatly impact the economy of being a politician in Lebanon because higher salaries will mean less money for politicians to pocket.
