The Minister of Labor in the caretaker government, Mustafa Bayram, postponed the meeting of the Index Committee for the third time because the disparity between the economic bodies and the General Labor Union remains significant regarding the cost of living and the minimum wage, despite repeated meetings between the head of the economic bodies, former minister Mohammad Choucair, and the leaders of the labor union, headed by Bachar Asmar. It is expected that a meeting will be held between them at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Beirut and Mount Lebanon in Ashrafieh next Wednesday.
Informed sources indicated that the proposal from the economic bodies consists of raising the minimum wage from 1.6 million Lebanese pounds to 3.5 million pounds, while the labor union's proposal is for 5 million pounds, in addition to tripling family allowances, increasing transportation allowances to 150,000 pounds, and raising school grants so that the total amounts to about 20 million pounds. However, both the economic bodies and the labor union are hesitant to finalize these indicators while waiting to understand the repercussions of raising the customs dollar to 15,000 pounds starting December 1 and setting the official exchange rate at 15,000 pounds starting February, as stated by Lebanon's central bank governor, Riad Salameh. These increases will lead to consequences on the cost of living and the prices of goods, fuels, and others. Nevertheless, both sides agree to continue communications between them to reach results that satisfy both parties, especially since economic sectors are suffering, like others, from the ongoing economic crisis and the rising exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market.
