Lebanon’s State Salary Crisis: Labor Unions Warn of Looming Crisis

Labor unions in Lebanon warned of a looming crisis, after the Ministry of Finance announced last week that it was unable to pay the salaries of state employees for the month of June.

The media office of the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Friday: “The Ministry of Finance is important to point out that it will not be able to pay salaries, compensations, wages, and the stipulated increase … at the end of June before the blessed Eid Al-Adha, due to the failure to secure financial funds to date.”

Bechara Al-Asmar, head of the General Labor Union, expressed fears of the seriousness of non-payment of the salaries of the approximately 300,000 civil, military and retired employees.

Al-Asmar told the “Arab World News Agency” that the Ministry of Finance took the decision because there is no reserve in the budget for the year 2023, and the reason is that the ministry is currently adopting the disbursement of funds and salaries according to the “twelve” rule due to the failure to approve the general budget … as a result of the presidential vacuum.

He said, “The rule determines the appropriations in it for salaries, and the Minister of Finance cannot bypass them or use the budget reserve except by returning to the House of Representatives to approve a draft law that allows him to open new appropriations.”

He added, “The ministry submitted a request to the House of Representatives to allow it to open credits (to pay) salaries to the military and civilians, with attachments of social assistance amounting to 6 times the basic salary. The General Assembly of the House of Representatives is supposed to convene in order to pass these laws, so that the Ministry of Finance can pay the salaries.

Al-Asmar explained that after the presidential election session tomorrow (Wednesday), contacts will be intensified with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and those concerned, “since the session will be held within the so-called necessity legislation, there is controversy about holding the sessions in the absence of the President of the Republic and a caretaker government, which requires Overcoming differences to convene and secure funds ».

He continued, “If we do not reach a solution to the problem, we will go to strikes and take action in the street. The salary is only enough for a few days, and the matter must be dealt with as quickly as possible.”

deeper than just augmentation

For the head of the Association of Public Administration Employees, Nawal Nassar, the matter does not depend on paying the salaries of the current month, and she said that the scene is deeper than a mere $50 increase in wages, while the economic and financial system in Lebanon is in crisis.

And the “Arab World News Agency” reported that “in 2019, the minimum salary for a public administration employee was equivalent to 950,000 Lebanese pounds ($633), while it has now reached $140.”

She added, “The transportation allowance was 8 thousand pounds (5.3 dollars at the time) per day, at that time the price of the passenger’s tariff was 2 thousand pounds (1.3 dollars at the time), but now the transportation allowance is 450 thousand pounds per day (4.5 dollars at the black market exchange rate) and the passenger tariff is 200.” A thousand pounds (two dollars), noting that public administration centers are located exclusively in Beirut, which forces employees of the rest of the governorates to go to the capital.

And she continued: «We tried to resort to successive governments, and they say that the required funds are not available, but despite the crisis we are living through, the previous government was able to carry out reforms according to which it would recover its wasted funds, and increase the salaries of employees through those resources and not wait for international donations».

And the head of the Public Administration Employees Association believes that there is a process of emptying the public sector from employees, “The International Monetary Fund wants to reduce their number … because this is within its conditions for providing debt to the Lebanese state.”

And she went on to say, “Instead of the government looking at the sources of inflation in the public sector, to reduce the number of employees or redistribute them fairly to vacant positions and positions, the government pressured administrations to push the employee to submit his resignation.”

She pointed out that “the aid of international organizations is intended for people with limited income, and when the government introduced the ration card to support needy families, we refused to be classified as employees in the public administration, because we take it from the right of the poorest, but we have a salary and wages … but now our salary has become less of that aid.

Nassar expressed her astonishment at the state’s calculation of the electricity tariff according to the dollar price on the Central Bank’s “exchange” platform (86,000 pounds per dollar), while in calculating their salaries, the price of the dollar is calculated on the basis of 1,500 pounds per dollar. The state was accused of discriminating between employees.

She said: «There are segments in the public sector that have received the attention of the state, such as judges, deputies, ministers, and the telecommunications and electricity sectors, because they own shares in it, and their employees were able to obtain an increase in salaries and health coverage benefits, while the salaries of public administration employees, professors and military personnel remained low, even with the introduction of The international community in support of the soldier or professor amounts to $100 per month, but what does it add to their purchasing power?