The Executive Council of the Union of Bank Employees in Lebanon expressed its regret, in a statement issued after a session dedicated to discussing recent national and banking developments, regarding the continued issuance of judgments by some judges that do not take into account the banking crisis resulting from the state's failure to implement a plan that would restore depositors' funds. The council noted that successive governments since the Taif Agreement have borrowed billions from the banking sector and spent them without oversight.
The council emphasized that the ongoing crisis in the banking sector and its worsening effects on economic sectors and living conditions necessitate that all state institutions expedite solutions to restore deposits to banks, which in turn are obligated to return them to their owners in accordance with the laws governing the relationship between banks and their clients.
It clarified that in light of this crisis, the judiciary is called upon during this critical phase faced by the banking sector to assist banks in overcoming their financial distress instead of punishing them and forcing compliance with rulings that, if persistently issued, would lead to the collapse of the banking sector, resulting in depositors losing their funds and thousands of bank employees losing their jobs.
The council stated that the gateway to addressing the financial collapse begins first with electing a president for the republic, second with forming a capable rescue government that can initiate a reform plan addressing public spending waste and restoring growth to the national economy while encouraging foreign and Arab investment in Lebanon after reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, and third with the rapid passage of laws by the parliament that end corruption, contribute to the restructuring of the public and banking sectors, obligate the state to settle its debts to the banking sector, restore citizens' trust in their state and institutions, and stimulate investment in the private sector.
The council hopes that the Council of State will consider the union's revision regarding the annulment of decisions issued by the Minister of Finance related to the retroactive effect of taxes on salaries, which the council considers arbitrary and unjust. It demands the cessation of the current pattern in addressing wage correction in light of the continuous devaluation of the national currency and the adoption of a system that maintains the value of wages.
It also urged Minister of Labor Mustafa Bayram to invite all stakeholders involved with the National Social Security Fund to a retreat dedicated to discussing the future of the fund amidst the escalating financial and economic crisis, and appealed to the board of directors of the Association of Banks in Lebanon to resume negotiations for the renewal of the collective labor agreement to protect the interests of workers in the banking sector.
