Miqati on SCC Strike: We Will Not Jeopardize Stability of our Monetary System
Prime Minister Najib Miqati stated on Thursday that the Syndicate Coordination Committee has the right to stage a strike calling for their demands to be met over the new wages scale.
He noted however during a press conference from the Grand Serail: “We will not jeopardize the stability of our monetary system.”
“The new wages scale was approved by cabinet. We are not stalling in this matter,” he stressed.
“The Syndicate Coordination Committee's request that the salary hike be made in one phase is not possible due to the threat of inflation,” added the premier.
“The government must comprehensively examine the new wages scale. The economic and monetary impact of the scale must be studied,” Miqati said before reporters.
He explained that cabinet is trying to find the proper sources of funding for the scale.
“We are trying to meet the requirement through taxes and cabinet estimated that some LL2,000 billion can be made through taxes,” he said.
“We can only make the payments in installments. We must obtain the resources before referring the file to parliament,” he continued.
“Toppling the government will not lead to the approval of the wages scale,” he stressed.
“We are in need of major tax reform,” Miqati noted.
The SCC held a strike on Thursday after crunch talks at the cabinet on Wednesday failed to reach consensus over finding the appropriate resources for funding the new wages scale for public employees.
Head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5): “We don't trust the government anymore and don't believe it.”
He reiterated the SCC's threats to “paralyze the public administration and educational sector.”
On Wednesday, the cabinet convened at the Baabda Palace and failed once again to reach a final agreement on the sources of funding for the new wages scale adopted in early September, postponing discussions to an October 31 session.
Last week, the SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, held a sit-in near the Grand Serail, threatening to “paralyze” the public sector if the cabinet delayed further referring the draft law to the parliament.
In September, the cabinet approved the new salaries scale for public employees, ending a long dispute that has prompted the SCC to hold several sit-ins and strikes.
The wages increase will be retroactive from July 1, 2012, but the salary adjustments would be paid in installments over a period of five years, although funding resources to cover the costs are still not clear.
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