Saniora Discloses Tentative Agreement on Pay Raise
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said on Friday the finance and labor ministers have agreed on a joint approach to the pay raise issue that would be discussed in the cabinet”s forthcoming meeting.
Saniora, talking to reporters at his office in Beirut, recalled that the cabinet has decided that the pay raise would be retroactive as of May and "we are committed to this decision."
However, Saniora refused to disclose details of the promised raise decision, the adoption of which has been confronted by differences between private sector employers and employees.
Labor Minister Mohammed Fneish represents the private sector because his office is in charge of labor unions while Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah represents the state treasury, which is the employer of the public sector labor force.
Shatah said earlier in a television interview he hopes to raise the minimum wage to 500,000 Lebanese pounds from its current level of 300,000.