Labor Minister Mustafa Biram announced, after a meeting of the index committee, good news for private sector employees: a salary increase of 1,900,000 Lebanese pounds, bringing the declared amount for social security to 4.5 million Lebanese pounds, along with an increase in transportation allowance to 125,000 Lebanese pounds. He promised to push for the approval of this file also in the public sector.
The Deputy Head of the General Labor Union, Hassan Faqih, considered that "any partial wage correction is not sufficient, especially with the daily rise in the exchange rate of the dollar," but he acknowledged that "this is what is possible at present, which we reached after a series of meetings with employers, workers, the Minister of Labor, and the International Labor Organization."
In an interview with the electronic newspaper "Anbaa," Faqih pointed out that "the income of a private sector employee is approaching ten million Lebanese pounds if we account for the base salary, transportation allowance, and family allowance. There is ongoing discussion about other benefits, including school allowances or converting end-of-service indemnities into a pension."
At the end of his talk, Faqih emphasized the continuation of efforts to improve the conditions for workers in both the private and public sectors, promising to pressure for the implementation of the transportation allowance increase for state employees as well, along with a continuous endeavor to improve their salaries.
